World Cup 2026: How Difficult is the USA Group?
March 18 2026, Updated 3:09 p.m. ET
For soccer fans, the summer of 2026 can’t come soon enough. Without wanting to wish away the domestic seasons around the world, there’s nothing quite like the FIFA World Cup. The quadrennial tournament features the world's top players competing for the most prestigious trophy in the sport.
Unmatched in terms of hype and spectacle, and the number one topic of conversation with punters assessing newbettingoffers.co.uk, the World Cup will be the most-watched sporting event of 2026 and a mainstay of the sports news headlines throughout June and July.
In 2026, the FIFA World Cup heads to the USA for the first time since the 1994 tournament, when Diana Ross showed the world how not to take a penalty. And, of course, the USMNT will be involved. One of the perks of acting as co-hosts, alongside Mexico and Canada, is that host nations receive an automatic place at the finals – no need to bother with the inconvenience of qualifying for the tournament.
Favourable Draw in Group D
With their place assured, all eyes were on the draw for the group stage of the competition, which took place on 5 December 2025. So, how did the USA fare in the draw?
As one of the tournament seeds, the USA were always going to avoid the giants of the competition, e.g. Brazil, Argentina, England, Spain, Germany, France, and the other international powerhouses. Nevertheless, when the dust settled, US fans had reason to be optimistic that the side would at least escape a Group D containing the following nations:
USA
FIFA World Ranking: 15
Best World Cup Performance: Third place (1930)
While the lack of competitive qualifying matches could be viewed as a disadvantage, the USA have largely impressed in the build-up to the tournament. Since losing to Mexico in the Concacaf Gold Cup final in July, the USA have posted friendly wins over Japan, Uruguay, and, significantly, Paraguay and Australia. The best side in the section according to the FIFA World Rankings, they will likely start as the money-line favorites to top the group when the final team is confirmed.
Paraguay
FIFA World Ranking: 40
Best World Cup Performance: Quarter-finals (2010)
Paraguay navigated the toughest qualifying group of all by finishing sixth in the CONMEBOL (South American) standings. Standout results included home wins over both Brazil and the reigning world champions, Argentina. Recent friendly results have been mixed, with Paraguay following up that defeat to the US with a win over Gold Cup winners Mexico. Despite their world ranking, Paraguay are capable of causing the best sides problems on their day and will be eager to impress on their first finals appearance since 2010.
Australia
FIFA World Ranking: 27
Best World Cup Performance: Round of 16 (2006, 2022)
Having required a playoff to make it to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, the Socceroos secured direct qualification thanks to a second-place finish in Group C in the third round of the Asian Football Confederation qualifying. Since securing qualification, Australia has beaten New Zealand (twice) and Canada but lost to Venezuela and Colombia, in addition to a 2-1 defeat to the USA in October. The Aussies may lack as many star names as other sides, but are renowned for their never-say-die attitude and will have qualification from the group as a minimum aim.
Fourth Spot to be Determined
The remaining spot in Group D will be determined via the European Qualifying playoffs, with the finals taking place on 31 March. As it stands, the final place will go to one of Turkey, Slovakia, Romania, or Kosovo.
Sitting 25th in the FIFA World Rankings, Turkey is officially the best of that quartet and made quite a splash when finishing third at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. They have failed to qualify for the finals, but boast elite talent in the ranks, including Real Madrid man Arda Güler.
Ranked 44th in the world, Slovakia reached the round of 16 on its most recent appearance in South Africa in 2010.
Only 5 spots below Slovakia in the rankings, Romania enjoyed an excellent run at the finals during the 90s – reaching the round of 16 in 1990 and 1998, and the quarter-finals on US soil in 1994.
Having only declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo became a full member of FIFA in 2016. Qualification would represent a momentous achievement for the 79th-ranked side in the world.
USA Group Stage Fixtures:
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- USA vs Paraguay – Friday, 12 June
- USA vs Australia – Friday, 19 June
- USA vs UEFA Play-off Winner – Thursday, 28 June
The top two sides in the Group qualify for the knockout stages, while the eight best third-place finishers from the 12 groups also make it through. The opposition is no walkover, but anything other than a place in the knockout rounds would rate as a major disappointment for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
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