WASHINGTON — The path out of the group stage for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the World Cup is crystal clear.

The Americans should be favorites in Group D after being drawn with Paraguay, Australia and the winner of a European playoff among Turkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo in Friday’s ceremony at the Kennedy Center.

The U.S. will face Paraguay to open its World Cup on home soil on June 12 in Los Angeles, which will also be Paraguay’s first game at the World Cup since 2010. The Americans beat Paraguay, 2-1, in a friendly just last month, which should give them some confidence, though it came with a heavily rotated U.S. squad.

The Paraguayans made a good showing of themselves in South American qualifying, conceding the second-fewest goals in CONMEBOL and accumulating as many point

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