The United States Men’s National Team and Mexico took care of business so definitively in the early portion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup that they don’t have anything left to play for in their final group games later this week.
They are locked in as group champions and will play a third-place team in the round of 32, which will be June 30 for Mexico and July 1 for the USMNT. Who will they play? There’s still much to be determined there, though more is known about a potential round of 16 opponent.
Here are the paths the USMNT and Mexico are looking at.
Who will USMNT play in round of 32?
The United States, as the winner of Group D, will play a third-place team from groups B/E/F/I/J on Wednesday, July 1, in Santa Clara, Calif. at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT. The most likely opponent will be the winner of Wednesday’s Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar match.
Should those teams draw, there are numerous possibilities. Ecuador, the Netherlands, Senegal and Jordan are other teams currently in third in their groups that would line up against the US.
The complicated answer is that there is a table with 495 possibilities for which eight groups send its third-place team and who those third-place teams will play.
Who would US soccer play in the round of 16?
Should the US win its round of 32 game, it would play either the winner of Group G (Egypt, Iran, Belgium and New Zealand, currently in that order) or a third-place team from groups A/E/H/I/J.
That game would be 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT on July 6 in Seattle.
At the moment Egypt is in a strong position to win Group G, while the team it is currently bracketed to face is Senegal, so potentially the USMNT would face the Egypt-Senegal winner in the round of 16.
That is all very fluid and won’t start to settle until Group G concludes on Friday, June 26.
Who could USMNT face in the quarterfinals?
Potential teams who could be in the USMNT’s quadrant of the bracket include Spain, Portugal and Croatia. That match would be July 10 in Los Angeles.
USMNT next game
The United States men’s national team plays Turkiye at 8 p.m. MT/9 CT on Thursday, June 25, in Los Angeles p.m.
When would US play Iran?
If Iran wins its group, which would entail beating Egypt on Friday, June 26, it would need to win its round-of-32 match against a third-place team to face the United States. If Iran finishes second in its group it would be on the other side of the bracket and wouldn’t face the USMNT until a potential final or third-place match.
Who will Mexico play in round of 32?
Mexico will play its round of 32 game on Tuesday, June 30 at El Azteca in Mexico City with a 7 p.m. MT/8 p.m. CT start time. Mexico will play a third place team from groups C/E/F/H/I. The current projection is to face Cape Verde but that is extremely fluid.
Third place teams in the five groups Mexico could face currently are Cape Verde, Scotland, Ecuador, Sweden and Senegal.
After the top eight third place teams are determined, a table with 495 possibilities will determine who each group winner gets in the round of 32.
Who would Mexico play in round of 16?
If Mexico wins its round of 32 match, it would play the winner of Group L (England, Ghana, Panama and Croatia, currently in that order) or a third-place team from groups E/H/I/J/K. That matchup is currently projected as England vs. Portugal, though the third place team (Portugal in this projection) is difficult to ascertain at this point.
That round-of-16 match would be at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT on July 5 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Who could Mexico face in quarterfinals?
Brazil and France are currently projected to be in Mexico’s quadrant of the bracket and would be potential quarterfinal opponents.
Mexico next game
Mexico plays Czechia at 7 p.m. MT/8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, June 24 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
When would USMNT play Mexico?
Mexico and the United States locked in to opposite sides of the bracket and as such wouldn’t play until the final or third-place game.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached, bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What’s next for USMNT and Mexico? Possibilities for rounds of 32, 16
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
