The USMNT will play Australia and Paraguay in Group D, as well as third opponent from Europe that will be determined in March

The U.S. men’s national team will face Paraguay in their first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 12.

And the requirement of a European team in each group denied the U.S. the chance to have beloved minnow Cape Verde in its group. The U.S. avoided some of the European teams looming as potential threats; Italy, Denmark, and Ukraine would head elsewhere.

As co-hosts alongside Canada and the United States, Mexico was an automatic qualifier for the 2026 World Cup. This will be the ninth consecutive World Cup appearance for El Tri, which failed to get out of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup had reached the Round of 16 in each of the seven World Cups prior.

As a host nation, the Stars and Stripes were pre-drawn into Group D at the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The USMNT waited anxiously to find out its first three opponents in next summer’s tournament and no doubt exhaled a sigh of relief after the draw concluded.