FIFA Draws United States Into 2026 World Cup Group With Australia, Paraguay and Winner of Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo

FIFA completed the 48-team World Cup draw in Washington, D.C.

“The draw for the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup will be held in Washington on Friday”

Al Jazeera

The United States was placed in Group D alongside Paraguay, Australia, and a UEFA playoff winner to be drawn from Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo.

Al Jazeera

The U.S. schedule listed in the draw includes June 12 vs Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, June 19 vs Australia in Seattle, and June 25 vs the playoff winner back in Inglewood.

The tournament opens June 11 in Mexico City with Mexico facing South Africa.

The 2026 tournament will be an expanded 48-team edition, with 12 groups and multiple host countries.

NBC notes the three host nations — the United States, Canada and Mexico — were placed into favorable groups, and FIFA seeded top teams on opposite sides of the bracket to avoid early meetings, meaning Spain and Argentina could only meet in the final.

CNN

NBC also flagged several potential 'Groups of Death', including Group C (Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland), Group I (France, Senegal, Norway) and Group L (England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama).

The draw ceremony mixed sport, celebrity and politics.

“Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart will host the gala, joined by actor-producer Danny Ramírez”

Diario AS

Multiple sources reported U.S. President Donald Trump attended and was expected to play a prominent role.

Al Jazeera said he was widely expected to receive a new FIFA Peace Prize because of his relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and NBC described performances and celebrity appearances where Infantino presented a prize to Trump and leaders of the host countries appeared onstage.

The Washington Post and Latest news from Azerbaijan emphasized attendance by leaders of the three host nations.

The draw also surfaced political tensions and protests around the event.

Al Jazeera reports Iran said it would boycott the draw.

France 24

Latest news from Azerbaijan describes political tensions around Iran's announced boycott.

okaynews frames the draw as politically charged, noting Iran cited U.S. visa denials for its delegation and warning that Trump threatened to move matches from cities run by opponents.

Those strands show the sports ceremony intersecting with international and domestic politics in several outlets' coverage.

Diario AS highlighted operational promotions, naming soccer legends to help conduct the draw and running a promo for a comprehensive sports app.

“Some members of Iran’s delegation were denied visas ahead of the 2026 World Cup draw, which will place 48 teams into 12 groups”

Latest news from Azerbaijan

Okaynews flagged fan concerns about rising ticket costs and FIFA’s dynamic pricing, noting secondary-market final seats starting near $7,000.

Latest news from Azerbaijan

NBC and other outlets emphasized the sporting stakes of the draw and early marquee matchups.

Together, these perspectives show different coverage priorities: organizational and promotional details, commercial fan impacts, and competitive analysis.