USA Drawn into Challenging World Cup 2026 group with Australia and Paraguay
Miami, Florida – The United States men’s national team will face Australia and Paraguay in Group C of the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, following today’s draw ceremony. The group also includes a team from the play-offs, completing a potentially difficult path to the knockout stages for the host nation.
The draw marks a repeat of the 1998 France World Cup group stage matchup against Brazil and Morocco, adding a layer of intrigue to the expanded 48-team tournament. This will be the first time the USMNT has faced Australia in a World Cup, while they previously played Paraguay in the 2007 Copa América.
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted across 16 cities in the three countries. The tournament’s expanded format features eight groups of six teams, with the top two from each group and eight best third-placed teams advancing to the round of 32.
Other notable group placements include: Argentina in Group B with Chile and a play-off winner; Brazil in group D alongside England and Northern Ireland; and France in Group A with Canada and Mexico. Germany landed in Group E with Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Curaçao; Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, should he feature, will contend with Uzbekistan, Colombia and a play-off winner.Group C will feature 2022 semi-finalists Morocco, Scotland and Haiti.
With warm-up friendlies already scheduled against Germany, portugal, Belgium and an as yet unconfirmed opponent, the bulk of the United States’ schedule is set during what could be one of the most transformative periods for the sport in the history of the country.
