The USMNT have two wins from two games at the World Cup, and football fever is sweeping the nation.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team have already wrapped up top spot in Group D, and have guaranteed a place in the knockouts for the 2026 tournament on home soil.
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Folarin Balogun starred in the opening game against Paraguay in Los Angeles, and a 2-0 win followed against Australia in Seattle.
The USMNT play their final group fixture against Turkey on Thursday evening (June 25) and Pochettino will hope to rest some of his stars, or experiment with his bench, as there is little on the line.
But once that game finishes, all eyes will be on the knockouts.
Who does USMNT play next at the World Cup?
As Group D winners, the USMNT will play their Round of 32 game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday, July 1 at 5pm local time (1am on Thursday morning for UK).
They will face the third-place finisher from one of the following groups: B, E, F, I, or J.
As it stands, the States will take on Algeria.
However, that could change once the final round of group games is done with Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Sweden or Senegal among the other potential opponents.
Should the US navigate the first knockout round, toughed tests would await.
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Who could USMNT play in the Round of 16 at the World Cup?
Winning in the Round of 32, which is game 81 of the tournament, would see Pochettino’s stars move on to the Last 16.
The bracket puts them in Game 94, to be played at Lumen Field in Seattle on Monday, July 6, at 8pm.
Currently, that would see them face either Mohamed Salah’s Egypt or the Czech Republic.
And if they win that, a date with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles could await in the quarter-finals.
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Coming to America
Mauricio Pochettino urges Americans to ‘keep believing’
As the US has sailed through their first two group games, a nation is united behind Pochettino’s team and their quest for World Cup glory.
Following the 2-0 win against Australia, the USMNT coach urged fans to help keep the dream alive.
“I think we need to keep believing and approach every single day like we did from day one,” Pochettino said.
“Believing that we can win. Knowing that we need to work really hard, building our journey every day to the next game.
“It’s not changed much, my view or my dreams or what I am seeing. It’s much better when you show good performances and win the games. I think it makes everything easier.
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“But at the same time it’s to keep believing. Before we were talking after one game and three points. Now it’s two games, six points.
“Now we need to go for the next one and be sure that we are going to arrive in a good condition like we arrive in the last two games.
“We need to work hard, be responsible, be disciplined, keep being very tough with ourselves to push to be better and better every day, not to be relaxed.
“The IQ that I have in my players in the squad is so high above the average. That is why I know, with our help, because we as a coaching staff are very demanding, we are going to keep the same way.”
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