Which are the Playoff C teams? USA waiting to know third group stage opponent at 2026 World Cup

This Friday, December 5th, the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and the United States now know who they will share their group with.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team is the top seed in Group D, which is also comprised of Australia, Paraguay, and the winner of the UEFA Playoff C bracket (which could be Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, or Kosovo).

The UEFA Playoff draw for the 2026 World Cup features semifinals and a subsequent final in each of its brackets (A, B, C, and D). Therefore, only four of the 16 national teams that reached this stage will ultimately qualify for the next World Cup.

Regarding the European Playoff C bracket, the semifinals will be Turkey vs. Romania and Slovakia vs. Kosovo. The winners of those matches will meet in the final to determine the nation that will join the last spot in Group D of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

All 12 groups confirmed after draw. (Bolavip)

USMNT’s schedule

The U.S. Men’s National Team‘s opening game of Group D will be against Paraguay on Friday, June 12th, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The exact kickoff time is still to be confirmed.

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Then, they will face Australia on Friday, June 19th, at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, and will conclude the group stage against the UEFA playoff winner (from the Playoff C bracket) back at SoFi Stadium on Thursday, June 25th.

United States coach Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged the challenge while noting the recent history against two of their confirmed rivals. “We played recently against Paraguay and Australia, so what we know is very fresh and the fourth it will be against a very good team in Europe,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino told Fox.

The United States have good experiences against both Australia and Paraguay, having recently defeated both teams 2-1 in friendly matches. Pochettino stressed the need for respect and intensity from his squad heading into the tournament.

“I think we need to be optimistic, but as we know the teams, we will see what is going on in few months. We need to show respect to our opponent, but we cannot win before we play. That is going to be our message to players. We need to compete better than Paraguay; [it’s] going to be difficult. We need to be strong in our beliefs, thinking big, but we need to be motivated to play with these guys [in the group stage] that will be really tough,” he concluded.