WASHINGTON \u2014 The path out of the group stage for the U.S. Men\u2019s National Team at the World Cup is crystal clear.<\/p>\n
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 T\u00fcrkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo, was as much as the Americans could have asked for at this World Cup on home soil.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
President Trump at the World Cup draw John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 5, 2025. REUTERS<\/p>\n
It is not perfect, and it will not be easy, but it ought to make dreamers out of Team USA.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, it does set up well,\u201d center back Tim Ream said Friday on a Zoom with reporters. \u201cBut at the same time, we know that just because it sets up well on paper doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s gonna go well because we think it should.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, we all want to win a World Cup. You don\u2019t 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\u2019s exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Australian coach Tony Popovic called the Americans the favorite to win their group, something the USMNT hasn\u2019t done since 2010.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019d expect the U.S. to be a favorite. They\u2019d expect to go through as a host nation playing at home,\u201d Popovic said in the mixed zone. \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, I\u2019m happy for them as long as we\u2019re there with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Popovic \u2014 appointed midway through the qualifying campaign after Graham Arnold resigned as Australia\u2019s coach following a loss to Bahrain and a draw against Indonesia \u2014 guided the Socceroos through AFC qualifying with wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
And T\u00fcrkiye \u2014 the favorite in the four-team European playoff that will be decided March 31 for the last spot in Group D \u2014 not only boasts a pair of stars in midfielder Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz, but beat the U.S. in Hartford, Conn., last summer.<\/p>\n
So, no, a favorable draw does not equate to an easy draw. <\/p>\n