It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the groups for the 2026 World Cup have been drawn.
The U.S. men’s national team was drawn into Group D alongside Paraguay, Australia and the yet-to-be-determined winner of Playoff C (Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo).
The Americans will play Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Australia on June 19 at Lumen Field in Seattle, and then return to L.A. to face the winner of Playoff C on June 25.
United States, Canada and Mexico are drawn into their 2026 FIFA World Cup Groups 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇲🇽
The World Cup, which takes place from June 11 through July 19, will be the largest sporting event in history as the 32-team field was expanded to 48.
Here are my takeaways:
1. U.S. avoids a ‘Group of Death’
With the expanded format, there is no clear “Group of Death.” But some groups will be more challenging than others – for example, Group L includes England, Croatia, Panama and Ghana, while Group I pits Kylian Mbappé’s France against Erling Haaland’s Norway.
The Americans were able to somehow avoid tougher opponents from other pots like Morocco, Croatia, Colombia and Japan in Pot 2 or Norway in Pot 3.
This isn’t to say that the Americans are in an “easy” group, but it’s certainly not as treacherous as some of the others. It also isn’t as difficult as the one the U.S. had in 2022 in Qatar, where it played Wales, England and Iran.
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino seemed happy while discussing his squad’s draw on the broadcast. He said the U.S. needs to be “optimistic” but also “respect all of the opponents.” He mentioned that Paraguay, for example, did well during World Cup qualifying and beat Brazil.
The overarching expectation, though, will be that the U.S. should win the group.
2. Americans will face familiar opponents
While some teams have little to no intel on some of their group stage opponents, the same cannot be said for the U.S. The Americans played both Australia and Paraguay in friendlies this year, winning both matches.
The last time the Americans playerd Paraguay, things got chippy:
Now, playing a team in a friendly compared to a World Cup will be totally different. The squads may not look the same, and the stakes are astronomically higher.
Even so, it’s helpful for Pochettino, his staff and his players to have that experience in their back pocket when preparing to play against those countries.
3. Who will the USA’s third group opponent be?
The Americans have to wait until March to find out who their third and final group stage opponent will be. The winner of UEFA Playoff C – Turkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo – will qualify for the World Cup and be thrust into Group D.
The U.S. will play that team on June 25 in L.A.
4. What about Mexico and Canada?
The World Cup co-hosts also had pretty favorable draws.
Mexico is in Group A and will play South Africa in the tournament’s opening match on June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, followed by South Korea in Estadio Guadalajara on June 18, and the winner of UEFA Playoff D (Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic or North Macedonia) in Mexico City Stadium on June 24.
Canada is in Group B and will play the winner of UEFA Playoff A (Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina) at BMO Field in Toronto on June 12, Qatar at BC Place in Vancouver on June 18 and conclude with Switzerland also in Vancouver on June 24.
4 ½. What’s next?
The full tournament schedule will be announced Saturday, Dec. 6, in another ceremony conducted by FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Dates and locations for all matches will be revealed at that time. Of course, the final schedule won’t be known until after the playoff games in March.
As far as the Americans are concerned, Pochettino can get to work. The squad will next convene in Atlanta in March, when it will play two matches against Belgium on March 28 and against Portugal on March 31.
The full 26-player roster for the World Cup will be announced in May before the U.S. participates in the Continental Clasico on May 31 (against an unknown opponent).
The U.S. will then close out World Cup preparation against Germany in Chicago on June 6.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
