The United States was drawn into a World Cup group with Australia, Paraguay and the winner of the European playoff between Turkey, Romania, Kosovo and Slovakia at Friday's draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington. Here's what you need to know about your co-host's opponents.
Australia
FIFA ranking 26
How did they qualify? The Socceroos qualified automatically by finishing second in AFC Group C, four points behind. Japan. They won five, drew four and lost once, while maintaining the second-best defensive record in the group.
Recent World Cup History They made their World Cup debut in 1974, finishing in the group stage. Australia have played in each of the last five World Cups, reaching the round of 16 in 2006 and 2022. The Australians were the lowest-ranked team in pot two, meaning their presence was the first step in making this a very profitable tie for the home team.
History vs. USA How it becomes a topic is quite recent. USA defeated Soccerroos 2-1 in a friendly match back in October.
The most famous players American fans may be familiar with New York midfielder Aiden O'Neill. Goalkeeper Matthew Ryan has over 100 caps for his country and has extensive experience in European football.
What do they say “I think friendlies are very different and I'm sure the squad will change and it has changed since they played us. We've changed players since then too and I'm sure that will continue over the next six months.” – Tony Popovich, head coach of the Australian national team.
Paraguay
FIFA ranking 39
How did they qualify? Paraguay finished sixth in Conmebol World Cup qualifying, earning the final automatic place in the tournament eight points behind Bolivia but sharing points with Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay.
Recent World Cup History There wasn't much there! The last time Paraguay qualified was in 2010 at the tournament in South Africa, where they reached the quarter-finals. It was their best result at the World Cup and ended a run of four consecutive appearances in finals.
History vs. USA At the very first World Cup in 1930, the United States beat Paraguay 3-0 to earn a spot in the semifinals, still the United States' best finish at a men's World Cup. More recently, USA defeated Paraguay in a friendly match in November, which marked the return of Gio Reyna to the team in excellent form.
The most famous players Miguel Almiron parlayed an MVP season with Atlanta United in MLS into a big-money move to Newcastle United before returning to Atlanta last offseason. Brighton & Hove Albion's Diego Gomez raised his profile by playing with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. Gustavo Gomez is the team captain and main scorer, he is a regular player for the Brazilian club Palmeiras.
What do they say “It's an even group, I have a feeling there's a pretty good level of parity and competition outside of the pots… Although Paraguay have secured qualification for next year's World Cup, if we just leave things as they are because we've qualified and go to sleep, the most likely thing is that there will be another episode like what happened where we won't qualify for 16 years.” – Gustavo Alfaro, head coach of Paraguay
Türkiye/Romania/Kosovo/Slovakia
These are the four teams that will compete in the playoffs for the last spot in Group D, and each represents a potentially intriguing matchup for the United States. Türkiye will be the favorites given their recent World Cup history and highest FIFA ranking. If they are the ones to advance from this group, the USA will have an advantage (or perhaps a disadvantage) since each World Cup group opponent will be a team they played in a friendly the year before. USA played Turkey in friendly match before the Gold Cup in Junelosing 2-1.
