While the exact schedule won’t be fully announced until Saturday, the first stage of the World Cup 2026 Draw did give us a good sense of who will be playing games in Seattle.
Two Seattle games were set in stone thanks to the various rules around hosting nations. The big one is that the United States will host Australia on June 19 in Seattle. That’s because the USA’s second game was already scheduled here and the draw determined Australia would be their second group-stage opponent. With Canada’s games in Group B also set, we also know that the UEFA Playoff A winner will face Qatar in Seattle on June 24. Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina are the teams in UEFA Playoff A.
The USA also drew Paraguay and the winner of UEFA Playoff C, which includes Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo. If the USA wins their group and advances to the Round of 16, that match would also be played in Seattle.
Collectively, that has to be considered a relatively fortuitous draw for the United States. Australia (26th) had the lowest FIFA ranking of any team in Pot 2 and they avoided having to face any team ranked inside the Top 20. Turkey (25th), who will need to win two games just to get to the World Cup, would potentially be the top-ranked team in the group. The United States also beat both Australia and Paraguay in recent friendlies.
The other two Seattle group stage games have not been determined, but they will come out of Group G. The first one will be Belgium-Egypt or Iran-New Zealand and the final group stage game in Seattle will be New Zealand-Belgium or Egypt-Iran. Additionally, the Group G winner will play in Seattle in the Round of 32 and the winner of that game could potentially face the USA in the Round of 16 in Seattle.
Tickets for these games will go on sale Dec. 11.
