{"id":4482,"date":"2026-06-20T12:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:34:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:34:52","slug":"the-u-s-won-its-world-cup-group-with-a-game-to-spare-what-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
U.S. Coach Mauricio Pochettino shares instructions with captain Tim Ream during a 2-0 win over Australia on Friday in Seattle. (Albert Gea\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

SEATTLE \u2014 For the past 96 years, the U.S. men\u2019s soccer team has known nothing but heartache and tense nerves on the World Cup stage. But that ends when the Americans face Turkey on Thursday night in Inglewood, California.<\/p>

Read more The Nationals\u2019 barista keeps the coffee flowing \u2014 and the clubhouse humming<\/a><\/p>\n

With a 2-0 win over Australia<\/a> here on Friday afternoon, the U.S. secured its place in the knockout round with a game to spare. (See the full schedule and standings here.)<\/a> When Paraguay topped Turkey later that evening, the Americans also clinched the top spot in Group D. For a team that won back-to-back World Cup games for the first time since the inaugural 1930 tournament, the breezy progression was unprecedented.<\/p>\n

The anguish of group-stage elimination the U.S. experienced in 1990, 1998 and 2006? Not happening. The final-matchday drama that sent the Americans to the knockout round in 1994, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2022 also won\u2019t be necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone said before the tournament, \u2018Two games and you\u2019d be free to the knockouts,\u2019 I think we all would have took it,\u201d forward Folarin Balogun<\/a> said. \u201cSo you know we\u2019re delighted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, a team that didn\u2019t just get the results but looked good doing it \u2014 playing with well-earned bravado on the ball and tireless vigor off it \u2014 will enter the knockout round as a dark-horse contender. The likely reemergence of star attacker Christian Pulisic<\/a>, who has only played 45 minutes this World Cup because of a left calf injury, only enhances the Americans\u2019 chances.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know as the World Cup knockout round looms.<\/p>\n

Nothing, really. Paraguay\u2019s 1-0 win over Turkey not only ensured the U.S. would win Group D, but it also ousted the Crescent Stars from knockout round contention \u2014 making them the first team mathematically eliminated. With both teams locked into their places, U.S. Coach Mauricio Pochettino will have the luxury of resting and rotating to his heart\u2019s desire Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important is to keep enjoying what we are doing,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cEvery single game is different, and the challenge now is to keep that level that was so high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expect the U.S. players who have picked up yellow cards \u2014 defenders Chris Richards<\/a> and Antonee Robinson, midfielder Tyler Adams and Balogun \u2014 to get nowhere near the field, since another booking would result in a round of 32 suspension. (The yellow card slate wipes clean after the group stage.) Pochettino also doesn\u2019t need to deploy Pulisic, unless he wants to throw the playmaker some minutes to get him back in a groove.<\/p>\n

In fact, it wouldn\u2019t surprise if Pochettino swapped in an entirely new lineup, though giving his regular starters a 10-day layoff could hinder rhythm and momentum. But what a champagne problem to contemplate.<\/p>

Read more Shut out of the World Cup again, China roots for a referee<\/a><\/p>\n

Finishing first in the group ensured the U.S. will face a third-place finisher in the round of 32 and, at least initially, avoid the tournament heavyweights. Looking ahead, the Group D winner also dodges the runner-up\u2019s unenviable fate: a round-of-16 collision course with defending champion Argentina.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know yet, and it could be one of dozen-plus teams as the U.S. prepares to face a third-place finisher from one of five groups (B, E, F, I or J).<\/p>\n

Among the most realistic options, based on the standings through Friday night, are Sweden, Ecuador, Senegal, Algeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina \u2014 all decent teams the U.S. would be favored to defeat. But there remains the possibility that a more formidable foe \u2014 perhaps the Netherlands or Japan from Group F, or Erling Haaland\u2019s Norway from Group I \u2014 could slump to a third-place finish and present the U.S. with a daunting matchup.<\/p>\n

The U.S. will play its round of 32 clash July 1 in Santa Clara, California. The winner will advance to a round of 16 matchup July 6 in Seattle, followed by a potential quarterfinal July 10 in Inglewood.<\/p>\n

It will require a run to the final four for the U.S. to leave the West Coast this World Cup. In that mind-boggling scenario, the Americans\u2019 path would take them to a July 14 semifinal in Arlington, Texas. From there? Either the third-place game July 18 in Miami Gardens, Florida, or the World Cup final July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re polling a broadcast studio or the U.S. locker room, the consensus seems to be \u201cvery.\u201d Former England defender Micah Richards argued on Netflix\u2019s \u201cThe Rest Is Football\u201d that he could see the U.S. in the quarterfinals or semifinals. Swedish great Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on the Fox telecast that he thinks the Americans can win it all.<\/p>\n

For his part, Pochettino has long resisted pragmatism and declined to set a goal anything short of lifting the trophy. Ask his players and they\u2019ll echo the sentiment \u2014 even if the U.S. has only won one World Cup knockout game in its history.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery game, every tournament we play, we want to win,\u201d Richards, the defender, said. \u201cSo I don\u2019t think it\u2019s ridiculous to say that we want to win it.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Michigan\u2019s 7-foot-3 Aday Mara headlines the list of top big men in the NBA draft<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S.\u2019s unprecedented start means it will stay on the West Coast and should avoid tournament heavyweights in the next round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now? - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now? - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S.\u2019s unprecedented start means it will stay on the West Coast and should avoid tournament heavyweights in the next round.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T12:34:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1a3bb49f6ea70350bb3e5705746571d0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2424\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1647\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T12:34:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482\"},\"wordCount\":918,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fab97b308ddc68a09f917ee4b7be4982.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482\",\"name\":\"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now? - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fab97b308ddc68a09f917ee4b7be4982.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T12:34:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fab97b308ddc68a09f917ee4b7be4982.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fab97b308ddc68a09f917ee4b7be4982.jpg\",\"width\":2424,\"height\":1647,\"caption\":\"Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - United States v Australia - Seattle Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S. - June 19, 2026 U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino gives instructions to Tim Ream during a hydration break REUTERS\\\/Albert Gea\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4482#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now? - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now? - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"The U.S.\u2019s unprecedented start means it will stay on the West Coast and should avoid tournament heavyweights in the next round.","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-06-20T12:34:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2424,"height":1647,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1a3bb49f6ea70350bb3e5705746571d0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now?","datePublished":"2026-06-20T12:34:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482"},"wordCount":918,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fab97b308ddc68a09f917ee4b7be4982.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482","name":"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now? - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fab97b308ddc68a09f917ee4b7be4982.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-20T12:34:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fab97b308ddc68a09f917ee4b7be4982.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fab97b308ddc68a09f917ee4b7be4982.jpg","width":2424,"height":1647,"caption":"Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - United States v Australia - Seattle Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S. - June 19, 2026 U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino gives instructions to Tim Ream during a hydration break REUTERS\/Albert Gea"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4482#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The U.S. won its World Cup group with a game to spare. What now?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}