What Time Is 🇺🇸 USA Playing?

This is already historic before a ball is kicked. The 2026 World Cup is the first to feature 48 teams — the biggest edition in the tournament's history — and the USA are co-hosting it on home soil for the first time since 1994. The atmosphere, the stakes, and the expectation around the USMNT have never been higher. Coach Mauricio Pochettino has built a squad around captain Christian Pulisic — arguably the most complete American player ever — and a young core with genuine talent at every level. Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Tyler Adams when fit, Folarin Balogun up front — this is a team that can hurt anyone on a good day. The home advantage is real: two of the three group games are in Los Angeles, in front of massive crowds.

USA are drawn alongside Paraguay, Australia, and Türkiye — a manageable group for a co-host ranked 16th in the world. Paraguay are the weakest side at 40th, and while Australia showed at Qatar 2022 that they can cause upsets, they are beatable. Türkiye are the most dangerous opponents in the group, sitting at 22nd in the world and boasting Real Madrid's Arda Güler — one of the most exciting young players in European football right now. The final group game, USA vs Türkiye, is the one that could decide who tops the group.

USA should advance comfortably, and playing two of their three games in Los Angeles with strong home support gives them a real edge. I'd take USA to win the group. Türkiye are quality but I think the American squad has enough to handle them. Paraguay I'm not too worried about. Australia are the interesting one — they're capable of a surprise and even if they finish third, the new 48-team format means the eight best third-place teams also advance, so they could still be around in the knockout rounds.

My prediction: USA first, Türkiye second. Australia might just sneak through as one of the better third-place finishers — don't count them out entirely.