USA World Cup knockout bracket: Who could USMNT play if they finish first in Group D?

Bullet point summary by AI

• The USMNT has secured a spot in the World Cup knockout rounds with two group stage wins.
• A draw against Turkiye will secure first place in Group D, shaping their path forward.
• If they advance, they could face several major teams in the coming rounds, depending on their performance.

With two wins in the group stage of the World Cup, the United States men’s national team has booked a place in the knockout rounds. They’ll have to wait until Friday night to find out if they’ll officially clinch the group, but they control their own destiny either way. A point against Turkiye in the final group stage game will lock in first place regardless of any other results. And the way Mauricio Pochetino’s men are playing, that’s a likely outcome.

Even if first place isn’t clinched just yet, it’s not too early to start looking ahead to potential knockout round opponents. The first-place team in Group D will take on the best third-place team from Group A, E, H, I or J. Here’s who the U.S. might have in front of them:

Who USA could face in World Cup knockouts if they finish first in Group D

I won’t get into all the permutations for how third-place teams will be slotted into the World Cup knockout rounds bracket. There are 495 of them. So we’re going on probability here. The most likely opponent the USMNT will be paired against is the third-place team in Group B.

Group B includes Canada, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar. Canada and Switzerland are well on their way to finishing first and second in the ground, but they’re even on four points while the latter two have one point each. The winner of the game between Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar is the USA’s likeliest round of 32 opponent.

Road to the final for USMNT

If the United States makes it through the round of 32, they’re likely to face Belgium in the round of 16. That would set up a juicy redemption narrative for the Americans, who were knocked out of the World Cup by the Belgians in extra time in the 2014 round of 16.

From there, USA could run into one of the World Cup favorites in the quarterfinals: Spain. That’s assuming the Spanish recover from their shocking opening round draw with Cape Verde and win Group H.

If Christian Pulisic and company managed to pull off a legendary victory, they’d advance to the semifinals with a number of other giants potentially waiting, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Morocco and Brazil.

It’s still unlikely the U.S. will make their deepest ever run in this World Cup, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. If they keep up the momentum, anything is possible.