WASHINGTON — Friday’s World Cup draw couldn’t have gone much better for U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino. In a star-studded two-hour ceremony held at the Kennedy Center, Americans were grouped with Paraguay and Australia, teams they beat in the last two months, along with the winner of a European playoff featuring Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo.
“We’ve already done the homework because it’s fresh,” Pochettino said. “We know them but they know us. The most important thing is evolution and improving in all the areas for us to be sure that, in our debut, we will be stronger than today.
“I’ve been looking forward to the World Cup. We start today.”
Next summer’s tournament, which will kick off June 11 in Mexico City with Mexico facing South Africa, will be the largest, most complex single-sport competition in history, with 48 teams playing 104 games across three countries before the July 19 final in East Rutherford, N.J.
It will also be the first World Cup to be played in the U.S. in 32 years. And for the players, that means everything.
“You can’t ask for anything better. It’s what we dreamed of as kids,” forward Christian Pulisic said. “It’s important to go into it with the mentality that we’re just going to enjoy it. We’re going to try to take in the whole experience.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The U.S. is ranked 14th in the world; of the six other teams drawn into its group, only Turkey is in the top 25. That would seem to make the path to the knockout stage a bit easier.
The Americans will open the tournament against No. 39 Paraguay at SoFi Stadium on June 12, then face Australia in Seattle on June 19 before returning to Inglewood to close out group play against the playoff winner June 25. The top two teams in each of the 12 four-team groups, plus the eight-best third-place teams, advance to the second round.
If the U.S. wins the group, it would stay in California to play a third-place team in Santa Clara, setting it on a road that would take it to Seattle for the round of 16 then back to SoFi Stadium for the quarterfinals, a stage the U.S. has reached just once in the modern era.
Midfielder Tyler Adams said no one is mapping out that journey just yet.
“There’s no easy game in a World Cup,” he said. “In fact, I think some of our hardest games in the previous World Cup were against the lesser opponents. But it’s fun knowing that we’ve played some of these opponents before.”
Finishing second would see the team play its first knockout game in Dallas and, should it win that, head to Atlanta for the round of 16.
“I’m sure you’d expect the U.S. to be a favorite,” said Tony Popovic, coach of 26th-ranked Australia. “They’d expect to go through as a host nation, playing at home. If that’s the case, I’m happy for them — as long as we’re with them and join them.”
Pochettino, however, said he won’t be distracted by talk the group is an easy one, because expecting to win and actually doing so are two different things.
“To the people who say ‘you have to win’ before you even play — no,” he said in Spanish. “In soccer you don’t win on the bus. You win when you earn it on the field.
“For that reason we have to show a lot of respect — full respect — for our opponents.”
Group of Death? More like Group of Mildly Uncomfortable
If the U.S. got a favorable draw, the same can’t be said for France, which was grouped with Senegal, Norway (and Erling Haaland) and the survivor of an interconfederation playoff featuring Bolivia, Suriname and Iraq. It’s not quite a Group of Death, but it’s probably the most competitive quartet to come out of Friday’s draw.
Other strong groups include Group C, topped by five-time champion Brazil and Morocco, a semifinalist four years ago, and Group H, with tournament favorite Spain and Uruguay, which made the quarterfinals in two of the last four World Cups.
Defending champion Argentina will play in Group J against Algeria, Austria and Jordan, none of whom are ranked among the top 23 in the world.
With eight third-place teams qualifying for the knockout rounds for the first time in World Cup history, the margin of error in the first round has never been greater, meaning teams will have a chance to overcome one poor game — or even two — and still advance.
There’s no place like home for Mexico
Mexico made it to the quarterfinals in the first two World Cups played in Mexico, a history that coach Javier Aguirre is well aware of because the last time it happened, in 1986, Aguirre started at midfield in El Tri’s final game.
So with the tournament returning to Mexico next summer, Aguirre is hoping to get the team back to the final eight.
“When we’re playing at home, we’re very excited,” the coach said in Spanish.
But first to make it anywhere near the quarterfinals, Mexico will have to get through a group that includes South Africa, South Korea and the winner of a European playoff featuring Denmark, North Macedonia, the Czech Republic or Ireland.
“It’s not an easy group,” said Aguirre, whose team closed the year winless in its last six tries. “These are interesting games, with many different styles and we’re going to prepare ourselves to face it.
“We can’t underestimate anyone.”
Winning the group would give Mexico the chance to play its first two knockout games at home before traveling to South Florida for the quarterfinals. Finishing second would put it on track to go Los Angeles, then Houston — two heavily Mexican markets — for its next two games. On that track, its quarterfinal would be in Foxborough, Mass.
South Korea, captained by LAFC forward Son Heung-min, has qualified for 11 consecutive World Cups, a streak beaten only by Germany, Brazil, Spain and Argentina. South Africa last played in the tournament in 2010, when it hosted the event.
Trump gets peace prize
Before Friday’s draw began, FIFA leader Gianni Infantino presented President Trump with FIFA’s first Peace Prize, a move many interpreted as a gesture by Infantino to curry favor with Trump, whose cooperation will be key to a successful World Cup.
Infantino, who announced the creation of the annual award last month, praised Trump’s actions “to pursue peace around the world,” including his work in bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza.
“This is what we want from a leader, a leader that cares about the people,” he said. “We want to live in a safe world. That’s what we do here today. That’s what we do at the World Cup, Mr. President. And you definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way.”
Trump thanked Infantino, calling the award “one of the great honors of my life.”
Give ‘em a break
Record heat and humidity spoiled last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, with temperatures topping 90 degrees for many afternoon games, hampering play and leaving some players in distress. As a result FIFPRO, the union representing the players, called for better scheduling and more hydration breaks for the World Cup — and FIFA appears to be listening.
World Cup organizers are reportedly considering mandating water breaks for both halves of every game, even for matches played indoors.
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