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Bosnia Coach Barbarez: 'It's Clear the United States is the Favorite'
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

Bosnia Coach Barbarez: 'It's Clear the United States is the Favorite'

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Bosnia's coach Sergej Barbarez acknowledged the United States as the favorite in their upcoming World Cup Round of 16 match.
  • Barbarez expressed respect for the U.S. team's playing style and enthusiasm.
  • He downplayed recent disrespectful comments from a U.S. journalist, attributing them to modern culture and social media.

Bosnia's national team coach, Sergej Barbarez, has openly stated that the United States is the clear favorite heading into their World Cup Round of 16 clash. The match is scheduled to take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

It is clear that the United States is the favorite.

— Sergej BarbarezAcknowledging the U.S. as the favorite before the World Cup Round of 16 match.

Barbarez conveyed his respect for the American team, noting their playing style and the enthusiasm they generate. "They are the favorites: they are the hosts, because of their names. We have never had problems with not being favorites; that word means nothing to me," Barbarez stated during a pre-match press conference.

It is a team that has a lot of respect from me, for how they play, for how they take advantage of the enthusiasm around them; it is nice to see. I respect them and I am happy to play against them tomorrow, to compete, and hopefully win.

— Sergej BarbarezExpressing his respect for the U.S. team's style and enthusiasm.

Despite the underdog status, Barbarez emphasized that his team is prepared to compete and hopes to win. Bosnia advanced to this stage as one of the top third-placed teams in their group, while the United States secured the top spot in theirs. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, however, has refuted the notion that his team holds the favorite status against Bosnia.

Of course they are favorites: they are the hosts, because of their names. We have never had problems with not being favorites; that word means nothing to me.

— Sergej BarbarezFurther elaborating on why the U.S. is considered the favorite.

Addressing a recent incident where a U.S. journalist reportedly showed disrespect towards Bosnia, Barbarez dismissed its significance. He attributed such behavior to contemporary culture and social media, stating, "This is the consequence of today's culture, social media, you see everything. It doesn't worry me, the truth. Things like that happen daily, we are a small country, sometimes these things happen, but I have no problems with it."

This is the consequence of today's culture, social media, you see everything. It doesn't worry me, the truth. Things like that happen daily, we are a small country, sometimes these things happen, but I have no problems with it.

— Sergej BarbarezResponding to a U.S. journalist's alleged disrespectful comments towards Bosnia.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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