USA gets favorable World Cup 2026 draw: Paraguay, Australia and European playoff winner
WASHINGTON — The path out of the group stage for the U.S.Men’s National Team at the World Cup is crystal clear.The Americans should be favorites in Group D after being drawn with Paraguay, Australia and the winner of a European playoff among Turkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo in Friday’s ceremony at the Kennedy Center.The U.S.
will face Paraguay to open its World Cup on home soil on June 12 in Los Angeles, which will also be Paraguay’s first game at the World Cup since 2010.The Americans beat Paraguay, 2-1, in a friendly just last month, which should give them some confidence, though it came with a heavily rotated U.S.
squad.The Paraguayans made a good showing of themselves in South American qualifying, conceding the second-fewest goals in CONMEBOL and accumulating as many points as the likes of powerhouses Brazil and Colombia.Australia, which will play the Americans in Seattle on June 19, tied its best-ever finish at the World Cup in 2022, finishing second in its group before losing to Argentina in the Round of 16.The Socceroos appointed coach Tony Popovic midway through their qualifying campaign after Graham Arnold resigned as a result of a loss to Bahrain and a draw to Indonesia.
The squad led by midfielder Jackson Irvine still qualified with some ease following that speed bump, beating Japan and Saudi Arabia to secure passage.Like Paraguay, the U.S.has also beaten Australia recently, taking a 2-1 win in an October friendly on a brace from Haji Wright.The third opponent, with the game set to take place June 19 in Los Angeles, won’t be known until March 31.
Turkey faces Romania and Slovakia faces Kosovo on March 26, with the two winners playing for a spot in the World Cup five days later.Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT has been hitting a stride recently, with wins over Uruguay and Paraguay during the November international window.That made it five in a row unbeaten for the Stars and Stripes, who last lost on Sept.
6 to South Korea.The run of form c...