Old foes and a European wild card: Key takeaways from the USMNT's World Cup group

The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw is officially set.

On Friday, Dec. 5, soccer's governing body drew lots to determine the opening groups of next summer's World Cup. 48 teams were sorted into twelve groups of four, and with that, the tournament got a whole lot more real for the U. S. Men's National Team.

The USMNT was drawn into Group D with Paraguay, Australia and the eventual winner of a European playoff (either Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo, depending on how that playoff goes). It will face Paraguay first in Los Angeles on Friday, June 12, Australia second in Seattle on Friday, June 19 and the European playoff winner third in Los Angeles on Friday, June 26.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino was bullish on his team's chances after the draw was made. 

"I cannot lie, the last few games, the last few windows, the team was capable to show a very good signal to the fans," he said. "We're starting to show that we are the USA, that is the culture here—to win, to fight, to never give up."

Here are the key takeaways from the USMNT's World Cup schedule:

The U. S. Soccer Federation deserves a round of applause

Talk about effective preparation: of the two confirmed and four potential World Cup opponents on the table, the USMNT has faced three of them in friendly matches in the last six months. It played Paraguay in November, Australia in October and Türkiye in June. (Fans will no doubt remember that it beat Paraguay and Australia but narrowly lost to Türkiye after putting in a spirited challenge.)

The U. S. Soccer Federation is responsible for booking the USMNT's friendly opponents, and it did a brilliant job of this in 2025. Every single one of the team's six post-Gold Cup friendlies was against a potential World Cup opponent. Some fans balked at that strategy when it was announced, worrying that playing so many "difficult" matches would dim the team's spirit, but it wound up having the opposite effect. The USMNT will cruise into the World Cup confident that it knows its opponents from top to bottom.