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IRVINE, Calif. – The bracket for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been out there in cyberspace since Dec. 5, when the draw was conducted in Washington. Christian Pulisic has played a lot of soccer since that day, but let’s not pretend he’s been on the field the entire time. There were moments, plenty, when he could have done some calculation about the road through this tournament for the United States men’s national team.
He could have glanced at Wikipedia, say, and recognized without much effort the vast difference between finishing first in Group D and as runner-up. Both teams will qualify automatically for the Round of 32, and quite possibly the team that finishes third, as well.
The similarities end there.
Group play for the USMNT begins Friday evening against Paraguay – 9 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles – followed by games against Australia and Turkey. There will be no easy games for those teams that advance from group play, but some are harder than others. Like, possibly, reigning champion Argentina in the Round of 16 for the team that finishes second. Pulisic told The Sporting News he has not concerned himself with this.
“Oh, no, to be honest,” he said Thursday at the U.S. training camp. “I really couldn’t even tell you exactly what happens beyond the group stage. That’s our first goal, for sure. We’ll worry about that later.”
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The last time the World Cup came to the United States, in 1994, the primary goal was to not be the first host nation to be eliminated after group play. In other years, with other draws, that was a significant achievement.
At home three decades later, however, with a team featuring veteran European regulars Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Chris Richards, among others, and with the field expanded to 48 teams, that figures not to be enough. They’re going to want at least the Round of 16, and the achievement of reaching the quarterfinals in 2002 hangs over every USMNT World Cup effort.
Some of advancing as far as possible is about the way the Americans play. And some of it is about who they’d need to conquer to keep playing.
If the U.S. win the group, they would play an undetermined third-place team in the next round and, if successful there, possibly Belgium in the Round of 16. Belgium still has many talented players from its uncrowned “Golden Generation”, but midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is 34, Axel Witsel is 37 and Eden Hazard retired three years ago.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi, indeed, is 38, but his venture into Major League Soccer has invigorated his game, and the core of his team is much younger: Lautaro Martinez is 28, Alexis Mac Allister is 27 and Julian Alvarez is 26.
No doubt the USMNT would love to play them, but only if it means they’ve advanced deep into the tournament.
So winning Friday is huge, and winning the group beyond that is even bigger.
“I’m definitely not thinking about third place, that’s for sure,” Adams told reporters before Thursday’s practice. “Based on the last World Cup, I know how valuable the first game of a World Cup is, in the group.”
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Adams, the U.S. captain at the 2022 World Cup, still laments the surrender of a 1-0 lead past the 80-minute mark against Wales in the opener at Qatar. The penalty kick that resulted from Walker Zimmerman’s one mistake in that game was converted by Welsh star Christian Bale and became the only goal the team allowed in group play. After a 0-0 draw against England, the USMNT had to defeat Iran in order to advance.
“You don’t concede against Wales and you get three points in that game, how much different does the group look?” Adams said. “ And how much easier it is to not have to play in must-win games – you don’t want to leave yourself in a circumstance to have to go to the third game and desperately need something.”
When the U.S. entered the last World Cup, it had fielded one of the youngest teams in the history of the competition. Pulisic and Adams are among those who’ve returned for their second, and this is different as a result. And, also, because it’s being played at home.
“I think it has that big-game feel, for sure,” Pulisic said, “but in some ways I feel a little bit more relaxed because I’ve been there before, and we’ve played in a match like this. I think it’s calmed me down a bit.
“I’m going to try to enjoy the moment as best I can. I think it’s important … but it can be so tough. We’re so highly focused, and it’s this big game, and you want to do well and you want to perform and get that first game, especially, that weight off your shoulders. But I’m going to look around. I’m going to try to take it in. I have friends and family in the stands. It’s a special moment, so I want to try to do that.”
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The USMNT faced Paraguay in an exhibition game last November and earned a 2-1 victory on goals by Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun. That was a month before the teams knew they’d face each other in the World Cup.
Paraguay might be a slightly different team, with forward Julio Enciso’s status for the game in question. He was injured in the team’s send-off game, a 4-0 victory against Nicaragua. Enciso had 9 goal contributions in 27 games in France’s Ligue 1 this past season, and he has 7 in 32 national team caps. He went 71 minutes without scoring in the U.S. game.
“I think for the guys who were on the field against Paraguay, it’s helpful,” Adams said. “Because now we’re breaking down film against an opposition with what we did and what we can now change in order to have even more success. Getting a win against them is good, but they’ll be hungry, probably even hungrier in their first World Cup game against a team that just beat them. So we need to deal with that, as well.”
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