On a frigid, snowy day in Washington D.C., the path for the United States men's national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup was finally revealed. The highly anticipated draw ceremony, held at the Kennedy Center, placed the American co-hosts in a group with Australia, Paraguay, and a yet-to-be-determined European side.
The Draw Details and Key Fixtures
The event, presided over by former England defender Rio Ferdinand and featuring a host of American sporting legends including Tom Brady and Shaquille O'Neal, determined the initial stage of the expanded tournament. As a host nation, the USA was seeded in Pot 1, avoiding other top-ranked teams in the first round.
The US campaign will kick off on 12 June 2026 in Los Angeles. The team will then travel to Seattle for a match on 19 June, before returning to Los Angeles for their final group game on 25 June. FIFA is set to confirm the specific order of these fixtures and kick-off times imminently.
Analysing the Group Opponents
From Pot 2, the USA was paired with Australia. The two nations have never met in a men's World Cup finals, though the Americans secured a 2-1 friendly victory over the Socceroos earlier this year. Australia qualified automatically by finishing behind Japan in their Asian confederation group.
Paraguay emerged from Pot 3 to complete the confirmed lineup. La Albirroja grabbed the last automatic qualification spot from South America by finishing sixth in their gruelling continental table. Interestingly, the US also played and beat Paraguay in a recent friendly, winning 2-1 in Pennsylvania.
The final slot in Group A will be filled by the winner of UEFA Playoff Path C, which features Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo. This playoff will be decided in the coming months. Should Turkey prevail, it would mean the USA has faced all three of its group stage opponents in preparatory friendlies during 2025.
Road to the Tournament Begins
With the draw now settled, the USMNT's schedule is rapidly taking shape ahead of what is being billed as a transformative moment for soccer in the country. The team has already lined up high-profile warm-up matches against European powerhouses Germany, Portugal, and Belgium.
The draw marks a significant milestone, 1,098 days after the team's exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and with just 189 days to go until the 2026 opener. All that remains is for the games to begin on North American soil, with the US team aiming to make a deep run in front of a home crowd.
