The United States is set to compete against Paraguay, Australia, and the victor of a UEFA playoff that includes Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo, following a favorable group stage draw for the co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup.
This draw, which took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, marked a significant milestone as soccer’s biggest event edges closer to reality.
The U.S. men’s national team will kick off their Group D campaign against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The opening match of the tournament features Mexico going up against South Africa a day earlier in Mexico City, mirroring the inaugural match when South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010.
Group A also features South Korea and the playoff winner among the Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark, and North Macedonia.
The other co-host, Canada, will open their campaign in Toronto on June 12, potentially facing a high-profile match against Italy if they progress through a challenging UEFA playoff alongside Northern Ireland, Wales, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The U.S. will participate in two additional group matches: against Australia in Seattle on June 19 and against the UEFA playoff winner back at SoFi Stadium on June 25. The U.S. has positive outcomes from recent encounters against both Paraguay and Australia, having secured 2-1 victories in recent friendlies.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino remarked to Fox, “We recently faced Paraguay and Australia, so our knowledge of them is quite fresh. The fourth match will be against a strong European team. We must maintain optimism, but as we learn more about our opponents in the coming months, we’ll adapt.” He emphasized, “Respect for our opponents is key, but we must strive to compete effectively, especially against Paraguay, which will be a tough match.”
The U.S. has reached the semifinals in the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and advanced to the quarterfinals once more in 2002.
As a co-host nation, the U.S. has been placed in Pot 1, allowing them to avoid facing other top seeds such as Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, as well as fellow co-hosts Canada and Mexico.
A record number of 64 nations participated in the draw, which will ultimately determine the 48 teams to play in the tournament this summer. Italy is one of the 22 nations vying for the final six spots, with decisions to be made by March 31.
With the expansion to 48 teams, the top two squads from each group, along with eight of the 12 third-place teams, will advance to a single-elimination knockout stage featuring 32 teams.
The current top four ranked teams in the FIFA standings—Spain, Argentina, France, and England—have been drawn in such a manner that they will not face each other until the semifinals, if they win their groups.
Defending champion Argentina, likely to be led by Lionel Messi in his sixth World Cup, received a favorable draw, opening against Algeria before taking on Austria and Jordan.
England faces a challenging opener against Croatia, a rematch of their 2018 semifinal. Ghana and Panama are also in Group L.
France will start their World Cup campaign against Senegal, just as they did in 2002, when Senegal shockingly defeated the defending champions 1-0. The French could face their long-time rivals Germany as early as the round of 16 if both teams advance.
France is in Group I along with Norway, setting the stage for a potential matchup between two star strikers—Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. Germany will compete in Group E with Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador.
Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland are in the same group, reminiscent of their encounter in 1998, which was the last time Scotland qualified for a World Cup. The Tartan Army finished last in that group. Haiti rounds out the group this time.
The top-ranked Spain, the champions of 2010, will take on Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay in Group H.
Notable retired athletes including Tom Brady (NFL), Shaquille O’Neal (NBA), Wayne Gretzky (NHL), and three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge participated in the draw, which was conducted by former England captain Rio Ferdinand and broadcaster Samantha Johnson.
For the first time, FIFA has chosen not to release the full match schedule simultaneously with the draw. Instead, the complete schedule will be unveiled during a separate live event on Saturday, taking into account varying time zones and weather conditions for teams and fans alike.
All matches from the quarterfinals onward will take place in the U.S., utilizing 11 NFL stadiums.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.