After a jubilant opening match against Paraguay, the US team officially registered their name in the knockout round when they defeated Australia quite easily. For the first time since the 1930 tournament (the first time it was held), the Stars and Stripes team has only won 2 matches in the group stage of a World Cup. Therefore, this is a very memorable achievement for Mauricio Pochettino and his students.
The victory over Paraguay on the opening day still leaves some doubts about the true level of the US team. The fact that the World Cup hosts played sublimely on the opening day is not uncommon. Therefore, continuing to beat Australia is like an affirmation of the strength right now of Florian Balogun and his teammates.
The US has officially won a ticket to the round of 32 despite having one last match in the group stage against Turkey - the team that officially left the tournament after losing to Paraguay. With the current format and the already defined brackets, going further is one thing, but group winners will have an advantage. With just at least 1 point against Turkey, the home team will close Group A with the leading position. From there, the US will have more advantages in the next round.
The fact that the host teams play well is always a positive thing for every World Cup festival. Up to this point, the three representatives of the co-host countries, the US, Mexico and Canada, are all sublimated. It will not be surprising if one of the three, or all three, advances to the round of 16. With the current form, only when reaching that threshold, formidable opponents will truly be revealed.
American fans are not optimistic enough to think about the championship right now, but they have never seen their team play so sublimely. Previously, there were not many big stars of the US team playing in Europe and very few famous people. Names in the old generation such as Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey are rare cases of weekly real combat in the top European football environment. Now, there are many such factors, partly helping Pochettino to work more easily.
Looking at the way the US plays, will the 2026 World Cup witness a new champion? Spain (2010) is the closest team to touch the championship for the first time. It is really difficult for the US or other dark horses to think about this prospect when there are still many other names that have never won the championship like Portugal. Even teams that are not too famous like Morocco are also showing very impressive strength.
It is too early to predict how far the host team USA will go at the 2026 World Cup, but at least, the dark cloud of media predicting they would be eliminated right from the group stage has vanished. The road has become wider for Pochettino and now it is time to gradually consider tactics for the knockout round.
