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Everything changes with a victory. Everything gets louder with a loss.
The United States men’s national team enters Wednesday’s round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina looking for its first World Cup knockout victory over a European opponent.
This is more than just another milestone on America’s resume. A win would send the team to the round of 16, where they would have a chance to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. That run ended with a 1-0 loss to Germany.
American defender Antonee Robinson recently joined Colin Cowherd on “The Herd” to discuss the upcoming matchup and the pressure surrounding the team.
“We have the opportunity to do something incredibly special this summer on our soil,” Robinson said. “We’re looking to win the tournament and you can’t get there without winning the next game.”
Robinson didn’t hesitate when asked if Wednesday’s game was the most important in American history.
“I would fully say this is the biggest game any of us have ever played for states,” Robinson said. “I hope we all go into this with that mentality of, you know, it’s life or death.”
The United States has looked like a completely different team three games into this year’s World Cup, winning two of its three group stage matches, including a memorable 4-1 tournament-opening victory over Paraguay.
That same Paraguay team recently eliminated Germany in the round of 32, further highlighting how special this US team has been.
The United States’ impressive performance in the group stage won’t mean much without another victory, and Robinson knows the challenge gets tougher in the knockout stage.
“We have to find a way to win, even if we don’t necessarily perform as well as we have,” Robinson said. “We just have to find a way to get a result.”
