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World Cup 2026 Australia thread

Quicky said:
I think our group is amongst the most even. It's full of quality but imperfect teams. Anyone could legitimately win or lose the group or finish anywhere in between. It'll be an interesting and super competitive group.
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Yeah its one of the most balanced I agree. Im just wincing at the thought of the US bias the referees are sure to have...
 
Quicky said:
I think our group is amongst the most even. It's full of quality but imperfect teams. Anyone could legitimately win or lose the group or finish anywhere in between. It'll be an interesting and super competitive group.
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To your point

This from the NY Times - note they use FIFA Rankings - I find ELO rankings more predictive Turkiye, Paraguay, Australia, United States

23. United States

FIFA ranking: 16

The co-hosts have been patchy under Mauricio Pochettino: hiring a blue-chip manager to guide them in their home tournament wasn’t going to plan and after an upturn in results, things have dipped again. Steering a team towards a World Cup with limited competitive action is always a tricky task, and their prospects at home are uncertain.

Christian Pulisic will be crucial to the USMNT’s hopes.

24. Turkey

FIFA ranking: 22

Anyone hyping up Turkey’s chances at a major tournament will have their disastrous Euro 2020 campaign in mind, where they were tipped as dark horses but lost all three games. But while many mourned Italy not qualifying through the play-offs, it would have been a much bigger detriment to the tournament if Turkey hadn’t made it, broadly down to their individual attacking talent. Let’s not call them dark horses again… but they should be fun horses, at least.

25. Australia

FIFA ranking: 27

Qualification was slightly hairier than it could have been and they drew too many games, but Australia did also beat Japan. Under Tony Popovic, they will still think they can surpass their previous best performance of the first knockout round. There’s plenty of excitement about young winger Nestory Irankunda, doing his thing at club level for Watford. The 20-year-old looks like he will be Australia’s key attacking threat next summer.

31. Paraguay

FIFA ranking: 40

It’s been a long time since Paraguay beat Japan to reach the quarter-finals in 2010, where they lost to eventual winners Spain. We haven’t seen them in a World Cup since, but an obdurate defence (they conceded 10 goals in 18 qualifiers, scoring only 14 themselves) suggests they’ll be hard to beat. And boring to watch.

www.nytimes.com

Ranking the 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup

Who will come out on top in North America with all the teams now confirmed for football's biggest tournament?
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
patjennings said:
23. United States

FIFA ranking: 16

The co-hosts have been patchy under Mauricio Pochettino: hiring a blue-chip manager to guide them in their home tournament wasn’t going to plan and after an upturn in results, things have dipped again. Steering a team towards a World Cup with limited competitive action is always a tricky task, and their prospects at home are uncertain.

Christian Pulisic will be crucial to the USMNT’s hopes.
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One would think Christian Pulišić is the US’ only player by reading articles like this lol.

But other than that the takes seem pretty fair.
 
TBH in non friendly matches actual wins for the US are pretty sparse

Against UEFA

Last World Cup Win: The USMNT has not beaten a European team in the FIFA World Cup since 2002, when they defeated Portugal 3–2 in the group stage.
Most Famous Competitive Win: One of the most notable victories against a top UEFA side was the 2–0 win over Spain in the semi-finals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Friendlies
Notable Friendly Wins: Prior to the current slump, the USMNT secured back-to-back friendly wins against elite European sides in June 2015, defeating both the Netherlands (4–3) and Germany (2–1) on the road.

The most recent friendly win for the United States Men's National Team (USMNT) against a UEFA (European) team was on 18 December 2021, when they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0


Against non UEFA non CONCACAF teams

Date Opponent Score Competition Region
20 Jun 2025 Saudi Arabia 1–0 2025 Gold Cup (Group Stage) AFC
24 Jun 2024 Bolivia 2–0 2024 Copa América (Group Stage) CONMEBOL
29 Nov 2022 Iran 1–0 2022 World Cup (Group Stage) AFC
16 Jun 2016 Ecuador 2–1 2016 Copa América Centenario (QF) CONMEBOL
13 Jun 2016 Paraguay 1–0 2016 Copa América Centenario (GS) CONMEBOL


Against non UEFA non CONCACAF teams at the World cup

29 Nov 2022 Iran 1–0 AFC
26 Jun 2014 Ghana 2–1 CAF
17 Jul 1930 Paraguay 3–0 CONMEBOL
 
patjennings said:
He has already had a spat with Poch (and they have not settled that greivance yet) and has 1 assist for club and country this calendar year.
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Eight goals but only 56 minutes per game this season for AC Milan. Weston McKennie has similar stats for Juventus.
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
The match that least suits Poppa-ball Is Paraguay I feel. It will be a group of draws.... we should finish at least 2nd.... "should" said with baited breath.
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Tony Popovic isn't going to park the bus for all the Socceroos matches at the World Cup and we'll have a full strength playing list come June with many players including Mo Toure and Jackson Irvine back at full fitness which should in theory mean that we get at least one win.
 
rebelliousfeminist974 said:
Tony Popovic isn't going to park the bus for all the Socceroos matches at the World Cup and we'll have a full strength playing list come June with many players including Mo Toure and Jackson Irvine back at full fitness which should in theory mean that we get at least one win.
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I wish I shared your confidence in Irvine...
 
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