WASHINGTON — The path out of the group stage for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the World Cup is crystal clear.

A favorable draw Friday afternoon, with the U.S. facing Paraguay and Australia in Group D, along with a third yet-to-be-determined playoff victor between Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo, was as much as the Americans could have asked for at this World Cup on home soil. 

They will open the World Cup on June 12 in Los Angeles against a Paraguay team they beat just last month, then play Australia a week later in Seattle, having beaten the Socceroos in October.

President Trump at the World Cup draw John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 5, 2025. REUTERS

It is not perfect, and it will not be easy, but it ought to make dreamers out of Team USA.

“Listen, it does set up well,” center back Tim Ream said Friday on a Zoom with reporters. “But at the same time, we know that just because it sets up well on paper doesn’t mean it’s gonna go well because we think it should.

“Listen, we all want to win a World Cup. You don’t play a tournament just to be there. Chris [Richards] and I have had conversations about, yeah, we want to win. People can laugh and say whatever they want, but it’s exciting.”

Even Australian coach Tony Popovic called the Americans the favorite to win their group, something the USMNT hasn’t done since 2010.

“I’m sure you’d expect the U.S. to be a favorite. They’d expect to go through as a host nation playing at home,” Popovic said in the mixed zone. “If that’s the case, I’m happy for them as long as we’re there with them.”

Popovic — appointed midway through the qualifying campaign after Graham Arnold resigned as Australia’s coach following a loss to Bahrain and a draw against Indonesia — guided the Socceroos through AFC qualifying with wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Paraguay, which last qualified for the World Cup in 2010, conceded the second-fewest goals in CONMEBOL qualifying, and finished level on points with the likes of Brazil and Colombia.

And Türkiye — the favorite in the four-team European playoff that will be decided March 31 for the last spot in Group D — not only boasts a pair of stars in midfielder Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz, but beat the U.S. in Hartford, Conn., last summer.

So, no, a favorable draw does not equate to an easy draw.

Follow the Post’s live updates from the 2026 World Cup draw to see the latest news, groups and more.

United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino talks to midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (17) against Uruguay in the second half during an international friendly at Raymond James Stadium. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Only a less-hard one.

And, as was pointed out numerous times Friday, the prior games against Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye only mean so much given squad turnover and changes in form.

“We are going to have a country behind us,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “We are going to play with emotion and people need to be proud of you. 

“But not because we are going to win. We cannot promise we are going to win but the way you defend your shirt, your flag, your culture, your philosophy, how we are, how people see our society, how we think in a cultural way, every time you’re going to play a game.”

Mauricio Pochettino, Head Coach of United States, attends the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. FIFA via Getty Images

Still, it all feels a little more real now, even after a surreal spectacle at the Kennedy Center that spanned from cringe-worthy to bizarre, replete with President Donald Trump boasting about FIFA’s ticket sales, saying Americans should call soccer “football” and saying of Pelé, “I assume [he’s] one of the greats.”

“Just watching Americans on stage, the president giving speeches and [the] performances,” midfielder Tyler Adams said, “it made it feel like an American event already.”

The countdown is on now, 188 days until June 12 with four U.S. games between now and then.

The Americans face Belgium and Portugal during the same March window in which the European playoffs are contested, then in the weeks leading up to the World Cup, play Germany along with a yet-to-be-announced team.

Then Paraguay, with the eyes of the nation upon them.

“It’s what we dreamed of as kids,” Christian Pulisic said. “… It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”