Why an Egypt win would help USMNT at World Cup

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

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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.