THE TAKE
The USA has a favorable path to make a deep World Cup run, comparable to an easy March Madness bracket with teams like Richmond, Creighton, VCU, and Virginia Tech. Path matters in tournament success.
BOLDNESS
6/100
GRADE
22/100
PLAYERS / TEAMS
USA
GRADING CRITERIA
TRUE IF
USA advances to at least the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup;
FALSE IF
USA is eliminated before the semifinals.
contrarianbracket specific
OUTCOME
CONFIRMED FALSEThe USA was eliminated in the Round of 16 on July 6, 2026, suffering a lopsided 4-1 defeat to Belgium, falling well short of the semifinals required for this prediction to be TRUE. The USA did advance past the group stage and beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in the Round of 32, but their tournament run ended there. The path did not prove as favorable as Cowherd suggested, as Belgium proved to be a significant obstacle.