2026 World Cup Draw: 5 nightmare teams the USMNT wants to avoid | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup will finally start to take shape on Friday with the draw that will determine the matchups for the Group Stage. The draw is a random but vital part of the World Cup journey for every team, including the USMNT.

As a co-host, the Americans have the benefit of being in Pot 1, which should help give Mauricio Pochettino’s side a favorable setup to advance to the Knockout Stage. However, that is far from a certainty, as there are plenty of good teams lurking outside of Pot 1. In anticipation of the draw, let’s look at five teams the U.S. is hoping won’t be placed in its group for next summer’s World Cup.

Norway

There is a strong likelihood that whatever group Norway is in will end up being the Group of Death. Despite the fact that the Norwegians are making their first appearance at a World Cup since 1998, Norway is the near-consensus pick for the best team in Pot 3.

They are coming off a flawless qualifying campaign that saw them score 37 goals and concede just five, with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland being the leading scorer in all of World Cup Qualifying. Norway could end up being only the second-toughest opponent the USMNT has to play during the Group Stage, which would surely complicate the path to the Knockout Stage.

Ghana

For what it's worth, the current Ghana team isn’t as good as past versions. The Black Stars didn’t even qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, which gets underway later this month. However, Ghana did qualify for the World Cup, and outside of some of the European teams participating in the March playoff, the Black Stars are arguably the best team in Pot 4.

That means Ghana’s group is likely to be among the toughest in the tournament. Also, while the USMNT exorcised some demons with a win in 2014, it’s impossible to ignore the history between these two teams, with the Black Stars eliminating the U.S. in both 2006 and 2010. Given that history, the USMNT would rather see just about any other team in Pot 4.

Morocco

After reaching the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup, Morocco is a team to watch closely next summer. The Atlas Lions are loaded with players from elite European clubs, making them arguably the best team in Pot 2.

The U.S. also has a troubling recent history with Morocco at the youth level. Both the Under-20 and Under-17 teams were knocked out of World Cups by Morocco earlier this year. The Under-23 side was also eliminated by Morocco in the quarterfinals of last summer's Olympics.

While those results don’t have much bearing on the full national team, it would certainly be a bad omen for the Americans to get in a group with Morocco, especially since the Atlas Lions would likely be favored over the USMNT to win the group.

Colombia

Another team from Pot 2 that the U.S. would like to avoid is Colombia. The Americans were embarrassed by Colombia 5-1 last summer before their epic Copa America failure. While much has changed since that game for the USMNT, the Americans still don’t want to have anything to do with Los Cafeteros.

Despite a modest qualifying campaign, the Colombians have a good mixture of talent and experience that makes them a dark horse to win the World Cup, not to mention a team the U.S. would prefer to avoid during the Group Stage.

It’ll be hard for the U.S. to avoid a quality opponent from Pot 2 being placed in its group, but it would be great to avoid Senegal. Other than Morocco, the Lions of Teranga have the shortest odds to win the World Cup of any African side. They reached the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup and had an impressive 3-1 friendly win over England this past June.

The Senegalese have the type of athleticism and European club experience that could give the USMNT fits. While it wouldn’t be the end of the world to be grouped with Senegal, there are plenty of teams in Pot 2 that the USMNT would rather face early in the tournament.