The U.S. Men’s National Team discovered two of its three Group Stage opponents for next summer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday afternoon via the World Cup draw held in Washington, D.C.
In Group D, the U.S. will face Australia, Paraguay and either Turkiye, Slovakia, Romania, or Kosovo (to be decided by the UEFA Playoff next Spring) in next year’s tournament taking place across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Directly after the draw, we caught up with USMNT players and former FC Dallas Homegrowns Chris Richards (now of Crystal Palace in the EPL) and Tanner Tessmann (now of Lyon in Ligue 1) to hear their reactions to the USMNT’s draw.
What’s your initial reaction to the USMNT’s group opponents?
Richards: “I'm really excited. I think it's a good draw with some good teams, but also some teams that I think we might be able to have their number. So really excited for these games.”
Tessmann: “I think Australia will be interesting, we already played against them in Denver, so we kind of know each other's style and how we're going to play. I think tactically it'll be an interesting game just for both teams to go into that match knowing that that we played almost seven months ago.”
What would it mean to you to represent the U.S. in a World Cup on home soil?
Richards: “I think every kid who plays, they always thought about representing their country at a World Cup. But I think it being on home soil just means so much more. Being in front of friends and family who have been with you along the journey, and also just people there that are wearing the red, white and blue, it'll mean everything for us. It’ll give us the extra 1% that we might need going into these games.”
What would make 2026 a success for the USMNT in your mind?
Tessmann: “I think reaching limits we've never reached before. We have the team that's 100% capable, we have the staff, we have the coach, and we're going to have the support from the fans on home soil and in our home stadiums. I think the fans don't have an expectation for us. I think they are just going to support us and follow us and love us no matter what, but U.S. players and U.S. staff and the guys inside know what we're capable of, and we're going to try to achieve that.”
Richards: “Just inspiring the next generation, giving people something to come out and watch, but also inspiring the next generation to do better than us. Hopefully we can win, but if not, I think it's laying this pathway for people that come after us to see that they went out there, gave 100% and played against some of the top teams in the world. I remember the 2010 World Cup. That's kind of what inspired me to play for the national team, and it wasn't even on home soil. So hopefully we can just give a lot of people a lot of great memories and things to look forward to look to in the future.”
How does it feel to represent the U.S. at the international level alongside other former FC Dallas players?
Tessmann: “It's really special. I knew Chris from even before Dallas, we grew up playing against each other and playing with each other. But especially the guys in Dallas, we have a special relationship. We know where each other are from, and our families and the coaches and what it's like on the day-to-day, going to training in the morning, going to school, and then hanging out with the boys. And to see these guys like Chris and (Ricardo) Pepi, Weston (McKennie) and countless others that have come through the FC Dallas Academy, seeing them and knowing them and following their journey, just as a friend and as a fan, is really special to me. Especially knowing Chris from Birmingham, it's really cool to see him tearing it up, winning the FA Cup and doing things, it’s really special to me. It's really cool to have this bond with these guys. It's a pleasure to know them and on a personal level and get to see them work as a top athlete. It's really inspiring for me.”
Richards: “When we were all in the academy, we all wanted to play for the national team. We all wanted to do this but being able to do it together, it just means so much more and makes it so much more memorable. We were just kids when we met each other, and now we're grown men now representing ourselves at the highest level our country. We were kind of made in the FC Dallas Academy. Coming to the national team, sometimes it's a person's first camp and seeing the guy beside and you've known them since the academy days, just means so much more. We all dreamed of it without saying it, but I think now being able to live that dream and play at the highest level, I think it just means so much more.”
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