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Many have said the World Cup would be a failure if the United States did not make it out of the group stage, without even knowing who they will face in it.
Well, the Stars and Stripes learned Friday who they will be playing in the group stage, and by all accounts, the U.S. Men’s National Team should advance to the knockout stage with ease.
The U.S. is the highest-ranked team in its group, joining Australia (26th), Paraguay (39th) and a team to be determined early next year in a playoff.
This is the seventh time Australia has qualified for the World Cup, including each of the last six. Its best finish is the Round of 16, achieved on two occasions. One of those instances came in Qatar four years ago, when it lost to the eventual champion, Argentina.
Paraguay was placed in the American group since it was not allowed to be in the same group as Brazil, the leader of Group C, because they are in the same confederation. This will be its first World Cup since 2010, when it reached the quarterfinals and lost to Spain, the eventual champion.
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The final spot is yet to be determined but will come down to Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo. Turkey has played in two World Cups, finishing third in its last appearance in 2002. Romania is aiming to return after last playing in 1998. Slovakia’s last appearance was in 2010, when it reached the Round of 16, and Kosovo has yet to participate in the event.
The USMNT has not had much success in the World Cup. The squad reached the Round of 16 in 2010 and 2014 but failed to qualify for the tournament in 2018. It returned to the Round of 16 three years ago but couldn’t advance out of the Copa América group stage on home soil last year.
Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Aaron Judge, and Wayne Gretzky were on hand to select the groups.
In 2026, the U.S. will be looking for redemption and has favorable matchups early on.
The U.S. will open the tournament June 12 in Los Angeles against Paraguay on FOX.
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