Former England striker Ian Wright has named his dark horse for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He believes co-hosts USA will reach the semi-finals, and he also claimed that they would face the Three Lions.
USA have had a brilliant start to the FIFA World Cup that they are co-hosting with Mexico and Canada. They have already qualified for the Round of 32 with one group game to go. They beat Paraguay 4-1 in their opening game before beating Australia 2-0.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have displayed some excellent football, and Wright believes they could reach the semi-finals. The Arsenal legend told FourFourTwo:
"I think America will get to the semi-finals. The reason I say that is because I think they have got a back four that is solid, they have midfielders who play at a good level and we saw with Flo Balogun that he can score goals. They have a fan base that is now starting to get it. Once the Knicks game finished, everyone started to say ‘right, let’s focus on the World Cup."
"I think that if they can continue with that momentum and play like that with that energy with a striker up front taking chances like that then they can get to the semi-final to meet England," he added.
England, meanwhile, also won their opening game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, beating Croatia 4-2 in Dallas.
Mauricio Pochettino explains his game plan after USA's win over Australia in FIFA World Cup
The Stars and Stripes beat Australia 2-0 in Seattle on Friday, June 19. They dominated the first half and opened the scoring via an own goal from Cameron Burgess (11'). Alex Freeman then doubled their lead in the 43rd minute. The Socceroos put some pressure in the second half, but the USA dealt with it well.
After the FIFA World Cup clash, Mauricio Pochettino explained his tactics against Australia and said (h/t Football360):
“Today with with the possibility to play with two striker…trying to pin the three central back and using the pocket in behind the two midfielder, to move the ball quick from one side to another and this triangle, with one side ... to play from our position but feeling free to change, to move, to create all the dynamics and try not to give reference to the opponent."
Pochettino said that they designed a different plan after watching Australia's win over Turkiye in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opening game. He also expressed his delight in the fact that the plan "worked well". They will next face Turkiye on June 25.