Follow live coverage as teams are drawn for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The tournament will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer.

Australia will take on host nation the United States in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the Socceroos were placed in Group D during a high-profile draw in Washington DC.

And during Friday's draw, the USMNT got a massive break that makes them feel like a big winner of the entire proceedings. It came when the Pot 2 teams were selected for each group. The big man selecting them, none other than Shaquille O'Neal, revealed that the Pot 2 team joining the United States would be Australia.

The top seed in Group D, the Americans welcomed Australia and Paraguay — manageable foes that they defeated in home friendlies this fall — and the winner of a March playoff between Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo.

The AUKUS submarine pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and United States has been endorsed after a five-month Pentagon review was handed down.

The United States was drawn Friday to start against Paraguay at Inglewood, California, on June 12, a day after Mexico hosts the opener against South Africa.