With another dominant performance in group play via a 2-0 win over Australia on Friday, the U.S. men’s national team improved to 2-0 and clinched its spot in World Cup knockout round.
After Paraguay‘s surprising 1-0 win over Türkiye later on Friday, the Americans also locked up the top spot in Group D.
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Still, the list of potential opponents in their Round of 32 matchup could be any number of teams, with several possibilities on the table depending on the results of matches in the coming days.
World Cup schedule | Group schedule, results | Standings
Possible opponents after USA’s Group D first-place finish
After Paraguay’s win clinched Group D for the U.S. men’s national team, the U.S. will face the third-place team from either Group B, E, F, I or J in the Round of 32. That keeps the range of possibilities for USMNT‘s opponent wide open. Here are the teams from those groups, listed in order of their place in the standings, with the third-place teams in bold, as of Friday night:
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The greatest likelihood is that the USMNT will play the winner of Wednesday’s Bosnia and Herzegovina-Qatar match — provided there is a winner. Whoever wins between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar, is almost assured of facing the U.S. in the Round of 32.
A draw between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar would create a multitude of scenarios involving more than a dozen other teams that could face the U.S. The third-place finisher in Groups J, I, E and F could then be in line to play the USMNT in the Round of 32.
Whomever the U.S. plays in the Round of 32, the game will take place on July 1 in Santa Clara, California, at Levi’s Stadium.
What we do know for sure
What is known is the matchups in the final round of play in Group D.
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USA will take on Türkiye at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in an essentially meaningless match with the fates of both teams already decided. Australia will also take on Paraguay in Group D play at the same time. Both of those games are scheduled for Thursday, June 25 at 10 p.m. ET.
For the U.S., the results of those games are now moot because of Paraguay’s win over Türkiye on Friday night. But Paraguay now has plenty to play for in its final group stage game.
