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2026 World Cup (Official Thread)

ScriptOhio

USA World Cup knockout bracket: Who could USMNT play if they finish first in Group D?​

With two wins in the group stage of the World Cup, the United States men's national team has booked a place in the knockout rounds. They'll have to wait until Friday night to find out if they'll officially clinch the group, but they control their own destiny either way. A point against Turkiye in the final group stage game will lock in first place regardless of any other results. And the way Mauricio Pochetino's men are playing, that's a likely outcome.

Even if first place isn't clinched just yet, it's not too early to start looking ahead to potential knockout round opponents. The first-place team in Group D will take on the best third-place team from Group A, E, H, I or J. Here's who the U.S. might have in front of them:

Who USA could face in World Cup knockouts if they finish first in Group D​

Group % chance of 3rd team facing USA Potential matchup
Group B 66.4 Bosnia and Herzegovina or Qatar
Group J 12.9 Jordan or Austria
Group I 10.5 Senegal
Group E 7.8 Ecuador
Group F 2.2 Japan or Sweden
I won't get into all the permutations for how third-place teams will be slotted into the World Cup knockout rounds bracket. There are 495 of them. So we're going on probability here. The most likely opponent the USMNT will be paired against is the third-place team in Group B.

Group B includes Canada, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar. Canada and Switzerland are well on their way to finishing first and second in the ground, but they're even on four points while the latter two have one point each. The winner of the game between Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar is the USA's likeliest round of 32 opponent.

Road to the final for USMNT​

Round Potential Opponents Likely Opponent
Round of 32 3B/E/F/I/J Bosnia-Herzegovina, Qatar
Round 16 1G or 3A/E/H/I/J Belgium, Egypt, Czechia
Quarterfinals 2K/2L or 1H/2J Colombia, Ghana, Spain, Austria
Semifinals 1E/1I/3? or 2A/2B/1F/2C Germany, France, South Korea, Switzerland, Netherlands, Morocco, Brazil
If the United States makes it through the round of 32, they're likely to face Belgium in the round of 16. That would set up a juicy redemption narrative for the Americans, who were knocked out of the World Cup by the Belgians in extra time in the 2014 round of 16.

From there, USA could run into one of the World Cup favorites in the quarterfinals: Spain. That's assuming the Spanish recover from their shocking opening round draw with Cape Verde and win Group H.
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2026 World Cup (Official Thread)

CMic
buckeyeintn said:
Am I the only one that thinks there should be more American commentators/analysts on the games broadcast on Fox?
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i think they should have more French commentators, so I can call them dicks while still not actually understanding what they’re saying.
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Neal Shipley (PGA Golf Pro)

ScriptOhio
wolves2002 said:
Cut ended up being at +4. Shipley gets to play the weekend.
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Just sayin': His game must be picking up. After starting the season in making the cut in just 1 of 10 tournaments; he has now made the cut in 4 of his last 5 tournaments. In 2025 the US Open last place finisher got $41,785; which is the worst he can do. This Sunday he should get his biggest payday of the year so far.
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How's the weather?

Nutriaitch
Nutriaitch said:
it’s right around where 3 major rivers intersect.
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for a little clarity.
it’s actually only 2 rivers, but historically and by name, it’s 3.

The Red River met up with the Mississippi and the Archafalaya left the Mississippi very close to each other at one point.

sometime in history the Red and Atchafalaya met and now don’t actually meet the Mississippi. But there is a man made structure that still connects them all.

it just looks like the Red takes a sharp turn southward and heads to the Gulf.
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2026 World Cup (Official Thread)

Wells4Heisman
Gimme a Paraguay result tonight and I’ll be thrilled. The game to rest against Turkey without having to worry about posturing for position.

The BBC has a live standings bracket. This obviously doesn’t mean anything but gives some insight on what caliber of teams the US could face by finishing first in the group.

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