WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 2026 FIFA World Cup groups are set. After a prolonged, painfully-cringe ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the 48 teams set to compete in next summer's tournament have been officially sorted.
The United States were one of the Pot 1 teams, reserved for the three host nations (USA, Canada and Mexico) and the remaining nine highest-rated teams in the FIFA World Rankings. Drawn into Group D, the USA will face Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of the UEFA playoffs between Slovakia, Kosovo, Türkiye and Romania.
While the USMNT won't know their final opponent until March 31, it's should be a manageable group for the Yanks, at least on paper. Using the FIFA World Rankings, the US are the highest-rated team in the group at 14, with Paraguay (21), Türkiye (25) and Australia (30). Using ELO ratings, though, which are much more representative of on-field quality, the USMNT's 34 ranking would make them the third- or fourth-highest ranked side, pending the results of the playoff.
The full schedule for the group stages won't be set until later, but the USMNT will open their World Cup campaign against Paraguay on Friday, June 12, at Los Angeles's SoFi Stadium. They'll then take on Australia on June 19 at Seattle's Lumen Field before finishing the group against the playoff winner on June 25 at SoFi Stadium.
With the new World Cup format, the winner and runners up from each group will advance to the knockout rounds, with the eight best third-placed teams rounding out the Round of 32.
Should the USMNT win Group D, they'll play a third-place team from one of Groups B, E, F, I or J. A second-place finish would put them with the runner-up from Group B, which includes Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand.
