Even with home advantage, World Cup co-hosts US could struggle in tricky group
Last-32 showdown with Iran beckons if both teams finish second in their sections
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THE Americans have fond memories of the last time they hosted the Fifa World Cup. That was 32 years ago in 1994, when a talented team with the likes of Alexi Lalas, Tony Meola and Eric Wynalda charmed the nation to reach the last 16, falling to the eventual winners Brazil by a single goal.
This year, the US are one of three co-hosts of the 2026 edition along with Canada and Mexico, and they will have to navigate their way out of a tricky looking section that includes Turkey and Australia.
There is an interesting sub-plot that’s brewing: Should the US and Iran both end up in second place in their groups, they will square off in the Round of 32 in Dallas on Jul 3 – a day before America celebrates its 250th Independence Day.
In the second of this four-part series to preview the World Cup, BT Weekend checks out the teams that are contesting in Groups D, E and F.
Group D: US, Turkey, Australia, Paraguay
The US played all three opponents in friendly matches last year – they lost 2-1 to Turkey, and beat Australia and Paraguay by that same scoreline.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino will be slightly worried by his team’s recent results, however, as the Americans were heavily beaten by Belgium and Portugal in March. Star player Christian Pulisic is experiencing a dry spell in front of goal – the last time he netted for his country was against Jamaica in November 2024.
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With home advantage, the US are still expected to advance to the next round as they hope to match or even better the achievements of the 2002 squad that reached the quarter-finals.
Turkey are in the World Cup finals for the first time since 2002 after they beat Romania and Kosovo in the European playoffs in March. In fact, this is just their third World Cup appearance, other than their debut in 1954.
The Turks will depend on captain Hakan Calhanoglu and winger Kerem Akturkoglu for the goals. Paraguay scraped through in South American qualifying with the sixth and final automatic berth to return to the World Cup finals for the first time since 2010. The likes of Antonio Sanabria and Miguel Almiron are among the more experienced players in the squad.
Australia beat Japan in the qualifiers to seal their spot, although they typically don’t go far in the World Cup finals. They were sent home after the first round in four straight tournaments from 2006 to 2018. At the 2022 edition in Qatar, they were beaten by Argentina in the Round of 16.
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao
It’s hard to imagine anything other than Germany topping this group comfortably, although one must remember they suffered consecutive group stage exits at the last two World Cups.
The 2014 champions appear to be in better shape this time, with players like Kai Havertz, Leroy Sane and Joshua Kimmich all hoping to stamp their mark on the tournament.
Ecuador and Ivory Coast will likely battle it out for second place. Ecuador are in good form at the moment and they haven’t tasted defeat in 21 months. They have some familiar English Premier League stars in their squad including Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo and Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie.
Ivory Coast have never gone past the group stage but they will feel confident of breaking that duck this year. Coach Emerse Fae’s starting line-up boasts the likes of Manchester United’s Amad Diallo and former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe, and they could be key to The Elephants’ fortunes this summer.
Group F: The Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia
The Netherlands – the losing finalists on three occasions – are the favourites to finish top in this section. They were unbeaten in qualifying, and coach Ronald Koeman is a veteran who knows how to deal with the pressure and to bring out the best in his players.
This star-studded Dutch team will include captain Virgil van Dijk, midfielder Frenkie de Jong and forward Cody Gakpo, among many others.
Japan were the first nation to clinch their place at the World Cup finals. The Blue Samurai advanced from a qualifying group including Australia and Saudi Arabia with three games to spare, and they lost just once in 16 matches.
As for Sweden, some say they are the nation that’s least deserving of a place. They didn’t win any of their six qualifiers, but still made it to the European playoffs in March due to them finishing top of their Nations League group in 2024. The Swedes made the most of that situation and ousted Ukraine and Poland to make it through.
Tunisia may be the outsider in this group but they earned their spot in style, winning nine of their 10 qualifiers by scoring 22 goals and conceding a grand total of zero. Manager Sabri Lamouchi only took up the post earlier this year and he hasn’t had a lot of time to know his players. Expect Tunisia to spring a shock or two in this group.
Check out our preview of Groups A, B and C here. The preview for Groups G, H and I will be out on May 22.
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