United States
Less than a decade after the United States failed to reach the 2018 World Cup, the program arrives at its own tournament transformed. The man tasked with finishing the job is Mauricio Pochettino, hired late in 2024 as the first elite European coach ever to take the senior bench. He inherits a generation forged in Europe rather than back home: Christian Pulisic at AC Milan, Weston McKennie at Juventus, Tyler Adams shielding the back four. The expectation on host soil is unambiguous. Winning Group D, where Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye await, is treated as the baseline, and a quarter-final is the line below which the summer would be judged a letdown. The Americans last reached a semi-final in 1930. Nearly a century on, with Folarin Balogun leading the line, they are chasing their first deep run since.
Standings · D
After matchday 3 of 3| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
| 2 | AUS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | PAR | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 4 |
| 4 | TUR | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 3 |