World Cup 2026: USA's potential opponents in knockout round after clinching its spot in the Round of 32
With another dominant performance in group play via a 2-0 win over Australia Friday, the U.S. men's national team has improved to 2-0 and clinched its spot in World Cup knockout round.
That much is known.
As of Friday evening, little else is clear about whom USA will play once the World Cup does advance to the Round of 32. But the list of possibilities has been whittled down and could be further narrowed late Friday depending on the result of the other Group D game between Türkiye and Paraguay.
World Cup schedule | Group schedule, results | Standings
With Friday's win and a 4-1 win over Paraguay in the first round, USA sits in first place in Group D and can finish no worse than second out of four teams, which guarantees advancement.
If Paraguay beats Türkiye or plays it to a draw Friday night, USA will clinch first place in Group D. If Türkiye beats Paraguay, then first place in Group D would come down to the results of the final round of group play scheduled for next week.
Scenarios if USA wins Group D
If USA wins Group D, it will face the third-place team from either Group, B, E, F, I or J in the Round of 32. That scenario keeps the range of possibilities for USA's opponent wide open. Here are the teams from those groups, listed in order of their place in the standings as of Friday afternoon:
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar
Group E: Germany, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Curaçao
Group F: Sweden, Japan, Netherlands, Tunisia
Group I: Norway, France, Senegal, Iraq
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Jordan, Algeria
Whomever USA would play in that scenario, the game would take place on July 1 in Santa Clara, California, at Levi's Stadium.
Scenarios if USA finishes second place in Group D
The scenarios if USA finishes in second place are much simpler. USA could finish in second place if Türkiye beats Paraguay Friday night and then defeats USA in the Group D finale.
In that instance, USA would take on the second-place finisher from Group G.
Group G: New Zealand, Iran, Belgium, Egypt
That game would take place on July 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
What we do know for sure
What is known is the matchups in the final round of play in Group D.
USA will take on Türkiye at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Australia will take on Paraguay at Levi's Stadium to conclude Group D play.
Both of those games are scheduled for Thursday, June 25. They'll both be played at 10 p.m. ET, so no team goes in with the advantage of knowing the outcome of the other group game.
For USA, the results of those games will be moot if Paraguay wins or plays to a draw Friday night. If Türkiye wins, then USA will have something to play for.
