2026 FIFA World Cup Group D
Group D of the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place from June 12 to 25, 2026.[1] The group consisted of the United States (co-host), Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey. This also marked the return of Turkey and Paraguay to the World Cup finals, their first appearances since 2002 and 2010 respectively.
The United States were the second team to secure their place in the round of 32 after Mexico, and were guaranteed to top the group after two consecutive wins. Australia finished in second place, edging out Paraguay based on head-to-head goal difference. Paraguay's performance allowed them to advance as one of the eight best third-place teams,[2] and would further advance into the round of 16 (all other third-place teams were eliminated by then).
Turkey exited the tournament after two consecutive defeats but managed to beat co-hosts the United States in their final group match.
Teams
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA Rankings[3][4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025[nb 1] | June 2026 | |||||||||
| D1 |  United States | 1 | CONCACAF | Co-host | February 14, 2023[nb 2] | 12th | 2022 | Third place (1930) | 14 | 17 |
| D2 |  Paraguay | 3 | CONMEBOL | CONMEBOL round robin sixth place | September 4, 2025 | 9th | 2010 | Quarterfinals (2010) | 39 | 41 |
| D3 | .svg.png){kind=small} Australia | 2 | AFC | AFC third round Group C runner-up | June 10, 2025 | 7th | 2022 | Round of 16 (2006, 2022) | 26 | 27 |
| D4 |  Turkey | 4[nb 3] | UEFA | UEFA second round Path C winner | March 31, 2026 | 3rd | 2002 | Third place (2002) | 25[nb 3] | 22 |
Notes
- ↑ The rankings of November 2025 were used for seeding for the final draw.[5]
- ↑ Although the United bid was selected on June 13, 2018, the automatic berths allocated to the hosts were not confirmed until a decision by the FIFA Council on February 14, 2023.[6]
- 1 2 As the identity of the UEFA second round Path C winner was not known at the time of the final draw, positions in the FIFA Rankings were not taken into account, and the placeholder in the draw was automatically seeded into pot 4.[5]
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (H) |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Australia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | |
| 3 | Paraguay |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4[a] | |
| 4 | Turkey |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 |
In the round of 32:[2]
- The winner of Group D, the United States, advanced to play the third-place team of Group B, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- The runner-up of Group D, Australia, advanced to play the runner-up of Group G, Egypt.
- The third-place team of Group D, Paraguay, advanced to play the winner of Group E, Germany, as one of the eight best third-place teams from the group stage.
Matches
All times listed are local, UTC−7 (PDT).[1]
United States vs Paraguay
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The teams had met nine times previously, including once in the World Cup, a 3–0 victory in the group stage for the United States in 1930, and most recently in 2025, a 2–1 win for the United States in a friendly. This match marked the United States' second victory on home soil, the other being 2–1 win over Colombia in the 1994 edition.[7]
The United States went in front in the 7th minute when Damián Bobadilla stuck his foot out and inadvertently put the ball in his own net after a low from the left by Weston McKennie. It was 2–0 in the 31st minute when Folarin Balogun scored with a low side foot finish to the right after a pass from Christian Pulisic on the left. Balogun got his second goal of the game in added time in the first half when he scored with a left-footed shot to the top left corner of the net after cutting in from the right. Maurício pulled a goal back for Paraguay in the 73rd minute with a low finish to the right of the net. In the 98th minute, Giovanni Reyna made it 4–1 with a shot to the left of the net with the outside of his right leg from just inside the penalty area on the right.[8]
With a brace, Folarin Balogun became the first American player to score more than once in a World Cup match since Bert Patenaude scored the tournament's first ever hat-trick in 1930.[9] This also marked the first time the United States ever scored four times in a World Cup match.[10]
| United States | 4–1 | Paraguay |
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| [Report 1] |
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         United States[11]
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     Paraguay[11]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[11]
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Australia vs Turkey
The teams had played against each other twice previously, with Turkey winning both friendly matches played in May 2004.[13] This was the only match in Group D held outside of the West Coast of the United States.
The fixture was Turkey's first World Cup game in 24 years,[14] having reached the semi-finals in their previous appearance in 2002. Turkey captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu described his side as "more talented" than Australia in a press conference prior to the game, and predicted his side would dominate the game.[14]
Socceroos coach Tony Popović made a controversial decision to drop seasoned goalkeeper and skipper Mathew Ryan from the starting lineup in favor of young goalkeeper Patrick Beach.[15] In the 27th minute, Nestory Irankunda cut in from the left and scored with a low finish to the left to put Australia in the lead. Shortly after, Turkey almost equalized when a powerful strike by Arda Güler was parried onto the post by Beach.[16]
In the second half, despite mounting pressure from Turkey, Aussie midfielder Connor Metcalfe made it 2–0 when he cut in from the right before shooting low to the right corner of the net from outside the penalty area.[17][18]
After the game, Çalhanoğlu maintained his team were better than Australia, regardless of the result. Irankunda, one of the goal scorers for Australia, admitted after the game that the comments were used as motivation by the Australian players.[16]
Regarded as an upset victory, this was Australia's first win in an opening World Cup match since 2006, and their joint-largest overall victory to date.[19]
    Australia[20]
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    Turkey[20]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[20]
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United States vs Australia
The teams have faced each other four times before the tournament, most recently in 2025, a 2–1 win for the United States in a friendly.[21]
Australia applied some early pressure and Mohamed Touré had a shot on goal after just 40 seconds, but it was comfortably saved by United States goalkeeper Matt Freese. Cameron Burgess committed an own goal in the 11th minute, and Alex Freeman headed the ball past Patrick Beach to make the score 2–0 just before halftime.[22]
Australia coach Tony Popovic made three changes at half time, including bringing on Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, in an attempt to turn the game in Australia's favour. Cristian Volpato was later substituted on with half an hour left, replacing Mathew Leckie, who had been struggling with a hamstring injury. Volpato managed a shot on goal which went over the crossbar, and later Metcalfe shot directly at Freese.[22]
Australia continued to struggle with creating any genuine chances throughout the match, and the United States comfortably defended their lead in the second half.[22] With the win, the United States officially qualified for the Round of 32, becoming the second team overall to do so after Mexico.
 United States[23]
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 Australia[23]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[23]
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Turkey vs Paraguay
The teams have only met once before, in a scoreless draw of a friendly in 1995.[24]
Turkey's loss confirmed their elimination from the tournament due to the head-to-head tiebreaker, making them the second team to be knocked out after Haiti, who became the first to be eliminated hours earlier following a 3–0 defeat against Brazil in Philadelphia. This marked their first early exit from a major tournament since UEFA Euro 2020, where they were also eliminated following two consecutive defeats. The result also confirmed the United States as the winner of the group due to the same tiebreaker. It was also the first time that Turkey failed to score in two consecutive World Cup matches.[25]
Miguel Almirón became the first player to be sent off under FIFA's new law prohibiting players from covering their mouths during confrontations with opponents, receiving a straight red card after a VAR review following an altercation with Mert Müldür in the stoppage time of the first half.[26]
With 32 shot attempts and no goals scored, Turkey surpassed Portugal’s 2006 quarter-final record of 31 shots for the most attempts in a single World Cup match without scoring. Combined with its 30 attempts against Australia, Turkey now holds the tournament record for the most shots without a goal across two consecutive matches, totaling 62 attempts.[27]
After 64 seconds, Matías Galarza scored with a low left-foot shot from outside the penalty area into the right corner of the net to put Paraguay in front. The goal was the fastest goal of the tournament to date, surpassing the previous record of 71 seconds set by Morocco's Ismael Saibari against Scotland hours earlier in Boston.[28]
| Turkey | 0–1 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 4] |
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    Turkey[29]
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Paraguay[29]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[29]
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Turkey vs United States
The teams had faced each other five times prior to the tournament, most recently in 2025, a 2–1 win for Turkey in a friendly.[30]
The match was considered a "dead rubber", as after matchday two the United States were confirmed as group winners and Turkey were confirmed in fourth and eliminated due to the tiebreaker rules.[31] As a result, United States coach Mauricio Pochettino fielded almost a completely different side to that used in their opening two fixtures, featuring nine new starters.[32]
A dramatic stoppage-time goal by Kaan Ayhan secured Turkey's first World Cup match victory since 2002 (when it finished third), and handed co-host United States its first defeat of the tournament. United States completed the group stage of the tournament with their best ever finish of 6 points from three matches,[32] and also with their highest World Cup goal tally of eight.[33] Had they won the game, it would have marked the first time any United States side had won three World Cup fixtures in a row.[32]
With this result, the United States had reached the knockout round in three of its last four attempts at the World Cup, with two exits in the round of 16, and a 2002 run to the quarterfinals that remains the national team's best performance, excluding finishing third in the first World Cup in 1930.[33]
Furthermore, this marked the second defeat for a tournament co-host, following Canada's 2–1 loss to Switzerland the previous day in Vancouver. This leaves Mexico as the only co-host to remain undefeated, having won all of their group stage matches.
Turkey[34]
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    United States[34]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[34]
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Paraguay vs Australia
The teams had previously faced each other five times, most recently in 2010, a 1–0 win for Australia in a friendly match.[35]
The match ended in a scoreless draw, securing Australia second place in the group and also allowing Paraguay to advance the following day once enough third-place teams had finished with three points or less.
    Paraguay[36]
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Australia[36]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[36]
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Discipline
The team conduct ("fair play") score would have been used as a tiebreaker if the head-to-head and overall records of teams were tied. It would also be used as a tiebreaker for the third-place ranking between groups if the overall records of teams were tied. The score was calculated based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches as follows:[2]
- yellow card: −1 point;
- indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
- direct red card: −4 points;
- yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
Only one of the above deductions could be applied to a player or team official in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Score | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Turkey |
1 | 2 | −3 | ||||||||||
| Australia |
4 | 1 | –5 | ||||||||||
| United States |
1 | 3 | 1 | −5 | |||||||||
| Paraguay |
5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | −12 | ||||||||
References
- 1 2 "FIFA World Cup 26 – Match Schedule" (PDF). FIFA. February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
- 1 2 3 "FIFA World Cup 2026 Regulations" (PDF). FIFA. May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 23, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
- ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking (19 November 2025)". FIFA. November 19, 2025. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking (11 June 2026)". FIFA. June 11, 2026. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
- 1 2 "Draw Procedures for the FIFA World Cup 2026" (PDF). FIFA. November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
- ↑ "FIFA Council highlights record breaking revenue in football". FIFA. February 14, 2023. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ↑ "United States national football team: record v Paraguay". 11v11.com. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
- ↑ "United States 4 Paraguay 1". BBC Sport. June 13, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Folarin Balogun makes USMNT history not seen in 96 years vs. Paraguay in World Cup opener". MSN. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
- ↑ "USA Makes History With Its First Four-Goal Performance At Men's World Cup". Fox Sports. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Tactical Line-up – Group D – USA v. Paraguay" (PDF). FIFA. June 12, 2026. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match – every winner". FIFA. June 12, 2026. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Australia national football team: record v Turkey". 11v11.com. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- 1 2 Snape, Jack. "In their own words, Turkey are 'more talented' than Australia. Can the Socceroos spoil the party? – World Cup 2026 – The Guardian". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- ↑ "World Cup: Socceroos down Türkiye with Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe's wondergoals". abc.net.au. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- 1 2 Sullivan, Matthew (June 15, 2026). "Turkey captain doubles down on Socceroos slander in tense exchange with Aussie reporter". The News.
- ↑ "Australia 2 Turkey 0". BBC Sport. June 14, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ "World Cup 2026: Australia 2–0 Turkey – Socceroos make winning start to Group D campaign in Vancouver". Sky Sports. June 14, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Socceroos stun Turkey in start to FIFA World Cup campaign". The Greek Herald. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Tactical Line-up – Group D – Australia v. Türkiye" (PDF). FIFA. June 13, 2026. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
- ↑ "United States national football team: record v Australia". 11v11.com. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Smale, Simon; Wildie, Tom (June 20, 2026). "Socceroos beaten 2-0 by USA in Seattle blockbuster". ABC News.
- 1 2 3 "Tactical Line-up – Group D – USA v. Australia" (PDF). FIFA. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Paraguay national football team: record v Turkey". 11v11.com. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Turkey 0 Paraguay 1". BBC Sport. June 20, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ Cartwright, Phil (June 20, 2026). "Almiron first player sent off for covering mouth". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on June 20, 2026. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ Hay, Phil; Tharme, Liam (June 20, 2026). "How Turkey took 62 shots and scored no goals in World Cup's most miserable campaign". The Athletic. The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
- ↑ "2026 World Cup: Hours after Morocco's Ismael Saibari delivers fastest goal, Paraguay's Matias Galarza sets new record". Yahoo Sports. June 20, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Tactical Line-up – Group D – Türkiye v. Paraguay" (PDF). FIFA. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Turkey national football team: record v USA". 11v11.com. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ Pelit, Asli (June 22, 2026). "How Turkey's World Cup hopes fell apart – and rendered USMNT clash a dead rubber". The Athletic. New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
- 1 2 3 McCarthy, Kelly (June 26, 2026). "US men's team falls to Turkey 3-2, but still advancing to World Cup knockout round". ABC News.
- 1 2 Greif, Andrew (June 26, 2026). "The U.S. can shrug off its last-gasp loss to Turkey. Now the stakes go up". NBC News.
- 1 2 3 "Tactical Line-up – Group D – Türkiye v. USA" (PDF). FIFA. June 25, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Paraguay national football team: record v Australia". 11v11.com. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Tactical Line-up – Group D – Paraguay v. Australia" (PDF). FIFA. June 25, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
Match reports
- ↑
- "USA vs Paraguay | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group D – USA v. Paraguay". FIFA. June 12, 2026. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group D – USA v. Paraguay". FIFA. June 13, 2026. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
- ↑
- "Australia vs Türkiye | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group D – Australia v. Türkiye". FIFA. June 13, 2026. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group D – Australia v. Türkiye". FIFA. June 14, 2026. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
- ↑
- "USA vs Australia | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group D – USA v. Australia". FIFA. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group D – USA v. Australia". FIFA. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑
- "Türkiye vs Paraguay | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group D – Türkiye v. Paraguay". FIFA. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group D – Türkiye v. Paraguay". FIFA. June 19, 2026. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑
- "Türkiye vs USA | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group D – Türkiye v. USA". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group D – Türkiye v. USA". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
- ↑
- "Paraguay vs Australia | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group D – Paraguay v. Australia". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group D – Paraguay v. Australia". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
External links
- 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage
- Australia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Paraguay at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Turkey at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Australia–Paraguay relations
- Australia–Turkey sports relations
- Australia–United States sports relations
- Paraguay–United States sports relations
- Paraguay–Turkey relations
- Turkey–United States sports relations
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