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Everything changes with a victory. Everything becomes stronger with loss.
The United States men’s national team enters Wednesday’s Round of 16 matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina looking for its first World Cup Round of 16 victory against a European opponent.
This is more than just another step in America’s journey. A victory 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 series 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 at home,” Robinson said. “We’re looking to win the tournament, and you can’t do that without winning the next game.”
Robinson didn’t hesitate when asked if Wednesday’s game was the most important in U.S. history.
“I would fully say this is the most important game any of us have played for the United States,” Robinson said. “I hope we all go in with that mindset, you know, it’s do or die.”
The United States looked like a completely different team three matches into this year’s World Cup, winning two of its three group stage matches, including a memorable 4-1 victory over Paraguay to open the tournament.
This same Paraguayan team recently eliminated Germany in the round of 16, highlighting once again how special this American team has been.
The United States’ impressive performance in the group stage won’t mean much without another victory, and Robinson knows the challenge will only prove tougher in the knockout stage.
“We have to find a way to win, even if we don’t necessarily perform as well as we did,” Robinson said. “We just have to find a way to get a result.”
