An American reporter has been forced to apologise after ‘inappropriate’ remarks about Bosnia and Herzegovina before their World Cup tie against the US.

The US team progressed as top of their group, and have set up a last-32 meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, who progressed as one of the best third-place finishing teams behind Canada and Switzerland in Group B.

ABC Los Angeles reporter Abigail Velez recorded a news segment last week, and declared proudly that she had no idea where to find Bosnia on a map and did not ‘know the first thing’ about the Eastern European nation.

‘I don’t know the first thing about Bosnia, and I don’t want to know,’ she said during a live cross on ABC7. ‘That is because Team USA, we’re back, we’re better than ever. Get prepared, Bosnia, because you don’t want it … but you’re gonna get it.’

Bosnia and Herzegovina Football’s official social media account led a flood of responses to the on-air comments, saying, ‘My goodness, the stereotypes write themselves…’

In a second post, they added: ‘To make things worse, the President of ABC News is, get this… a Bosnian!’

After extensive backlash online, Velez was forced to release a statement on social media, apologising for her comments.

abigail velez
Abigail Velez. Pic: Courtesy of abc7abigail/X

‘In a poor effort to have a little fun with World Cup competition, I took it too far and made a thoughtless comment on air that was insensitive and inappropriate,’ she posted.

‘I apologise to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian Football team. The World Cup is supposed to be about uniting communities around the world, and my comment didn’t reflect that spirit. Wishing all the teams the very best as they continue their World Cup journey.’

The game against the US will be Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first time in the knockout stage in the team’s history, and only their second ever appearance at the World Cup, having only featured at the 2014 World Cup, where they recorded one win and two defeats in the group stage.