Who can the USMNT draw today the 2026 World Cup, and when will the U.S. play?

Mauricio Pochettino will learn his first ever World Cup group opponents as a coach on Friday when the World Cup draw takes center stage in Washington, D.C.

MORE — 2026 World Cup draw preview, how to watch

The Yanks are hosting the tournament along with neighbors Mexico and Canada, and will be the top seed in Group D for what they are hope are just the first three matches of their tournament.

Who could they play? Who will they certainly not play?

You can watch the draw live en Espanol on Telemundo and on Peacock here, while the Pro Soccer Talk crew will be hosting a live Watchalong show to break down the draw as it’s happening, here.

Who will not face the USMNT in the group stage?

As hosts, the USMNT are guaranteed to avoid fellow hosts Mexico and Canada plus the next nine best ranked automatic qualifiers via the latest FIFA rankings.

So there will be no Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany on the group stage docket.

They will also not play CONCACAF teams or slots that could be CONCACAF teams. That eliminates Pot 3 team Panama, as well as Pot 4 teams Curacao and Haiti and the inter-confederation playoff winners because CONCACAF teams are in those groups.

So Jamiaca, Suriname, Bolivia, Iraq, New Caledonia, and DR Congo are out, too.

Who could be the USMNT’s first World Cup opponent? Group D, first match

When: June 12, 2026
Where: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California
Opponent: D2 (Pot 3 team)

Norway
Egypt

Algeria

Scotland

Paraguay

Tunisia

Ivory Coast

Uzbekistan

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

Who will be the USMNT’s toughest opponent? Group D, second match

When: June 19, 2026

Where: Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington

Opponent: D3 (Pot 2 team)

The United States’ second World Cup game of the tournament will see them against their the best FIFA-ranked team they’ll play in the group stage.

It won’t be Panama, but it could be any of these 11 nations.

Croatia
Morocco

Colombia

Uruguay

Switzerland

Japan

Senegal

Iran

South Korea

Ecuador

Austria

Australia

Who will the USMNT play in the group stage finale? Group D, third match

When: June 25, 2026

Where: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California

Opponent: D4 (Pot 4 team)

The U.S. cannot draw CONCACAF automatic qualifiers Haiti and Curacao, nor can they draw either of the inter-confederation playoff winners as Jamaica or Suriname could emerge from either pathway.

The field is small, so it’ll be

Jordan
Cape Verde
Ghana
New Zealand
UEFA playoff winner 1 (Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, or Northern Ireland)
UEFA playoff winner 2 (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, or Albania)
UEFA playoff winner 3 (Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkiye, or Romania)
UEFA playoff winner 4 (Czechia, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, North Macedonia)

What’re the most favorable and unfavorable draws for the USMNT?

The Group of Death scenarios are fewer than in recent years due to the expansion of the tournament but…

Uruguay, Norway, and one of the UEFA playoff winners seems like a nightmare, and the idea of Croatia and Egypt in the same group also would be less than ideal.

As for the best case scenario, the Yanks would love to avoid the UEFA teams from Pot 4 as well as Ghana. Every group will have a team from UEFA and getting Scotland or Austria over a playoff winner is probably favorable. So the best set-up might be USMNT group with New Zealand, Scotland, and Uzbekistan.

Who could the USMNT play if they win Group D?

This is a huge deal, because winning Group D means not facing a group runner-up and instead meeting a third-place team.

Yes, that could be from a Group of Death, so to speak, but it’s likely preferable to the alternative.

The Round of 32 opponent would come from Group B, E, F, I, or J. If the Yanks won that game, they’d face the Winner of Group G or the third-place team from A, E, H, I, or J.

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