WASHINGTON — Argentina and Lionel Messi will start their World Cup title defense against Algeria, while the U.S. was drawn Friday to open against Paraguay as soccer's quadrennial championship returns to North America for the first time since 1994.
Three-time champion Argentina also will play Austria and Jordan in Group J of the expanded 48-nation, 104-game festival, spread across 11 NFL stadiums plus three venues in Mexico and two in Canada.
The ceremony included U.S. President Donald Trump receiving a peace prize awarded by FIFA, and balls with team names plucked famous North American athletes Tom Brady, Shaquille O'Neal, Aaron Judge and Wayne Gretzky.
The U.S., which reached the semifinals at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and the quarterfinals in 2002, starts Group D against Paraguay on June 12 in Inglewood, California. The Americans play Australia six days later at Seattle, then face Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo on June 25 back at SoFi Stadium.
“Full respect,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said of the Americans' group stage foes. "But yes, believing that we can go through, but we need to perform. We need to evolve and be better every time that we are together."
Mexico was drawn to open on June 11 in Mexico City against South Africa in Group A, which also includes South Korea and the winner of playoff games among the Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark and North Macedonia. When South Africa hosted the tournament in 2010, it drew Mexico for its opening match and tied 1-1. South Africa then became the first host country to fail to advance from the group stage.
Forty-two of the teams have been determined and 22 are competing in playoffs for six berths that will be decided March 31.
Winners and second-place nations from the 12 groups advance to the new round of 32 along with the top eight third-place teams. All games from the quarterfinals on will be in the U.S., culminating in the July 19 final at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Specific sites for all group stage games and kickoff times were to be announced Saturday.
England, which won its only title in 1966, plays Croatia, Ghana and Panama in Group L, and five-time champion Brazil meets Morocco, Haiti and Scotland in Group C.
Top-ranked Spain, the 2010 champion, faces Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H, while four-time champion Germany plays Curaçao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Group E.
Two-time champion France plays Senegal, Norway and Bolivia, Iraq or Suriname in Group I — Senegal beat defending champion France 1-0 in the 2002 opener. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, like Messi expected to play in a record sixth World Cup, has Group K matches against Uzbekistan, Colombia and Congo, Jamaica or New Caledonia.
Other groups include:
G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar and Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wales or Northern Ireland
F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia and Sweden, Ukraine, Albania and Poland
No team has repeated as champion since Brazil in 1958 and ’62 and only eight nations have won soccer’s biggest prize. Italy has four titles and Uruguay two.
Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan are in the tournament for the first time. Curaçao is the smallest nation by population to reach the World Cup, an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people within the Netherlands kingdom.
Trump, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney selected the balls of their own countries from bowls during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The lead-in show was almost as long as a soccer match, with the actual draw for the expanded 48-nation tournament starting in the 87th minute.
On a wintry day with snow falling, soccer officials and celebrities filled the hall, 189 days before the expanded 48-nation, 104-game tournament.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave Trump a large gold-colored peace prize trophy and a gold-colored medal hanging from a blue ribbon, which Trump hung around his neck. Standing next to Trump, Infantino lavished praise.
“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” Trump said.
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