The United States learned its path for the 2026 World Cup after receiving a relatively favorable group-stage draw. As co-hosts, the U.S. men’s national team will face Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of a UEFA playoff involving Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo.

The draw — a star-filled event held at the Kennedy Center in Washington — marked a major milestone as the world’s biggest soccer tournament draws closer.

The U.S. will open Group D on June 12 against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. A day earlier, Mexico will launch the tournament in Mexico City against South Africa, a rematch of the opening match from the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg.

Group A includes South Korea and the winner of playoff matches featuring the Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark, and North Macedonia.

Canada, the tournament’s third co-host, opens on June 12 in Toronto and could face Italy — if the Italians emerge from a European playoff group that also includes Northern Ireland, Wales, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

U.S. Group Details & Schedule

The U.S. will then travel to Seattle to take on Australia on June 19 before returning to SoFi Stadium on June 25 to face the UEFA playoff winner. The Americans have encouraging recent results against both Paraguay and Australia, defeating each side 2–1 in friendlies.

“We’ve played Paraguay and Australia recently, so we have fresh information,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino told Fox. “We need to stay optimistic, respect our opponents, and make sure we compete with intensity. Nothing is won before we step on the field.”

The U.S. famously reached the semifinals in the inaugural 1930 World Cup and has reached the quarterfinals only once since — in 2002.

Tournament Structure & Seeding

As co-hosts, the United States were seeded in Pot 1, ensuring they avoided top-ranked teams such as Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, as well as fellow hosts Mexico and Canada.

A record 64 nations took part in the draw for the expanded 48-team tournament. Twenty-two teams, including Italy, are still competing for the final six playoff spots to be decided on March 31.

Under the expanded format, the top two teams in each group — plus eight of the best third-place teams — will advance to the 32-team knockout stage.

Highlights From Around the Draw

• The world’s top four teams — Spain, Argentina, France, and England — were placed in separate brackets to avoid meeting before the semifinals if all win their groups.

• Defending champions Argentina received a favorable draw, opening against Algeria before matches with Austria and Jordan.

• England face a tough opener with a rematch of their 2018 semifinal against Croatia. Ghana and Panama round out Group L.

• France will begin against Senegal — the same matchup from 2002, when Senegal upset the defending champions 1–0. France also face Norway in Group I, setting up a potential Mbappé vs. Haaland showdown.

• Germany landed in Group E alongside Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador.

• Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland were drawn together just as they were in 1998, with Haiti completing the group.

• Top-ranked Spain will face Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay in Group H.

The draw featured sports icons Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Wayne Gretzky, and MLB star Aaron Judge assisting host Rio Ferdinand and presenter Samantha Johnson.

For the first time, FIFA will not release the match schedule the same day as the draw. Instead, a separate event on Saturday will reveal the fixture list, taking into account climate and time zones. All matches from the quarterfinals onward will be held in the United States, which will use 11 NFL stadiums.