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The United States has won its first two matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and already clinched first place in Group D.
That allows the USMNT to start thinking about what could arrive in the knockout rounds, and the Egypt-New Zealand match in Group G on Sunday night is actually quite relevant.
The U.S. should want Egypt to win.
For the USMNT 🇺🇸, we want Egypt 🇪🇬 to defeat New Zealand 🇳🇿
That would increase the odds of Belgium 🇧🇪 not finishing 1st and to remove them from our side of the bracket.
Today I feel… Egyptian— Tactical Manager (@ManagerTactical) June 22, 2026
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The reasoning here has to do with the pocket of the bracket the U.S. finds itself in.
If the United States wins its Round of 32 matchup, the favored team for it to meet in the Round of 16 is the team that finishes in first place in Group G -- which has New Zealand and Egypt but also Belgium and Iran.
Not that playing an Egypt team with Mo Salah would be easy, but on paper, it's a better matchup for the U.S. than Belgium.
Sure, the USMNT will have to go through all sorts of good teams if they want to make a historic World Cup run.
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The longer they don't have to face a powerhouse, though, the better.
An Egypt win would make it tougher for Belgium to win Group G after a pair of draws, and with Egypt still to play Iran.
It's small margins, but it's something that could matter for the USMNT.
More FIFA World Cup news:
- USA, England can't actually play on July 4th
- Why Norway brought 600 pounds of salmon to the World Cup
- Eloy Room leads Curacao to astounding World Cup history
- Pink cleats are everywhere at the World Cup
- How Folarin Balogun's mom being too pregnant to fly led him to USMNT
Billy Heyen
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim's basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive high school sports coverage at the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men's national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. When people ask if he's seen a movie, the answer is usually "No, I was probably watching sports." Even away from sports, his main hobby is running (much slower than any athlete in these pages).
Source: Sporting News
