United States President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final draw Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
The United States Men’s National Team will face Paraguay in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the tournament draw revealed Friday.
The draw, which took place in Washington, D.C., unveiled the paths for 42 of the 48 teams who qualified for the World Cup. Placeholders were displayed in groups for the six remaining spots, which will be given to the final teams who qualify through playoff matches.
Swirling snowfall surrounded the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, but thunderous tenor Andrea Bocelli warmed draw attendees, who included President Donald Trump, Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino boasted about soccer’s popularity and said he expects 7 million fans to pack stadiums during the tournament, which will be held June 11 to July 14 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“It is much more than just a sporting event,” Infantino said on the Fox broadcast. “It is simply the greatest event that mankind has ever seen and will ever see.”
Comedian Kevin Hart, Tom Brady and fellow legendary athletes and celebrities helped prime the audience before the draw was finally revealed toward the end of the broadcast.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino will lead the 14th-ranked Americans against the No. 39 Paraguayans in their Group D opener June 12 in Inglewood, Calif. The members of each of the dozen groups for the tournament can be found here.
A full schedule of match venues and kick off times will be released at noon EST Saturday.
Co-host Mexico (No. 15) will face No. 61 South Africa in the opening match of the first-ever 48-team World Cup on June 11 in Mexico City. No. 22 South Korea and either No. 21 Denmark, No. 59 Ireland, the No. 44 Czech Republic or No. 65 North Macedonia will join Mexico and South Africa in Group A.
The Americans and Paraguayans are joined in Group D by No. 26 Australia and either No. 45 Slovakia, No. 80 Kosovo, No. 25 Turkey or No. 47 Romania, who are involved in a playoff to claim a World Cup spot.
Each team will face off once in group stage play. The Top 2 teams from each of the 12 groups will advance to the knockout stage. The eight best third-placed teams also will move onto the Round of 32.
Argentina, the defending champion and No. 2 team in the world, will start their title defense with a Group J clash with No. 35 Algeria. No. 24 Austria and No. 66 Jordan join Argentina and Algeria in that group.
Top ranked Spain, the reigning Olympic champions and World Cup favorites, will take on No. 68 Cabo Verde on June 15 in a Group H opener. That group also features No. 16 Uruguay and No. 60 Saudi Arabia.
Co-host Canada, ranked No. 27, is in Group B with Switzerland, Qatar and either No. 12 Italy, No. 32 Wales, No. 69 Northern Ireland or No. 71 Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Cristiano Ronaldo and No. 6 Portugal are grouped with No. 13 Colombia, No. 50 Uzbekistan and either No. 70 Jamaica, No. 149 New Caledonia or the Democratic Republic of the Congo (No. 56). Kylian Mbappe and No. 3 France share a group with Erling Haaland and No. 29 Norway, No. 19 Senegal and either No. 76 Bolivia, No. 58 Iraq or No. 123 Suriname.
Group L features No. 4 England, No. 10 Croatia, No. 30 Panama and No. 72 Ghana. Vinicius Junior and No. 5 Brazil also has a tough group, which includes Achraf Hakim and No. 11 Morocco, No. 36 Scotland and No. 84 Haiti.
The Netherlands (No. 7) share Group F with No. 18 Japan, No. 40 Tunisia and either No. 28 Ukraine, No. 31 Poland, No. 43 Sweden or No. 63 Albania.
No. 8 Belgium, No. 20 Iran, No. 34 Egypt and No. 86 New Zealand are featured in Group G. Group E includes No. 9 Germany, No. 23 Ecuador, the No. 42 Ivory Coast and No. 82 Curacao.
Due to FIFA rules, if Spain and Argentina both win their groups, they can’t meet until the World Cup finale. The Americans will play Australia in their second group stage match June 19 in Seattle. They will face the winner of the playoff in their group stage finale June 25 in Inglewood.
The winner of Group D will face a third-place finishers from the group stage in a Round of 32 match July 1 in Santa, Clara, Calif. The winner of that match will take on the winner of a Round of 32 meeting between the Group G champion and third-place finisher.
The World Cup finale will be held July 14 in East Rutherford, N.J.
Most successful Latin American soccer players of all time
Pelé, BrazilBrazilian footballer Pelé attends a book signing for “Pelé: The Autobiography” at Waterstone’s on Oxford Street in London on May 21, 2006. He won a record three World Cups with Brazil (1958, 1962 and 1970) and scored more than 1,000 career goals, becoming one of the most influential athletes of the 20th century. Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI | License Photo
