Zlatan Ibrahimovic Backs USMNT to Win 2026 FIFA World Cup After Historic Back-to-Back Group Stage Victories

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has thrown his considerable weight behind the United States Men’s National Team, declaring without hesitation that Mauricio Pochettino’s side are capable of winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil.

The endorsement came on the back of the USMNT’s commanding 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle on Friday, 20 June, a result that confirmed the United States as Group D winners with one group stage fixture still to play. Cameron Burgess turned the ball into his own net to open the scoring, before Alex Freeman added a header to seal the result and send the hosts through to the knockout rounds in dominant fashion.

When Fox Sports presenter Rebecca Lowe asked Ibrahimovic for a single-word verdict on whether the United States could realistically win football’s most prestigious trophy, the typically measured former PSG striker offered an unambiguous response: “Yes.”

The Swedish legend went further during his broadcast appearance, urging doubters to reconsider their scepticism. “If you didn’t believe before, I will repeat; start believing,” Ibrahimovic said. “They have the country behind them, and when you have this support, it’s difficult to beat you. They had a good performance today. To be honest, Australia was not a threat today. I said it before, that whatever happened before the World Cup doesn’t matter. It is important what happens now. Now, the momentum they have, that is what they need… The third game, let’s see what happens now, they can rest some players now that they have qualified. It is looking good.”

The victory over Australia followed an equally commanding 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in the Americans’ tournament opener, giving the USMNT back-to-back World Cup wins for the first time since the inaugural edition of the competition in 1930 — a statistic that underlines the historic nature of their group stage campaign.

Despite the momentum, statistical models temper expectations to a degree. The Opta supercomputer currently assigns the United States a 4.6% probability of lifting the trophy — the eighth-highest figure among all competing nations — reflecting both their strong start and the depth of quality elsewhere in the draw.

The USMNT have now scored six goals across their opening two fixtures, and Ibrahimovic was particularly pointed in crediting the role of the home crowd in driving the team’s performances. The atmosphere generated by a partisan American fanbase has been cited as a significant factor in the side’s consistency throughout the group stage.

With qualification secured, Pochettino’s squad will have the opportunity to rotate their options in the final group game before turning their attention to their Round of 32 fixture, scheduled for 1 July 2026 at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. How the United States navigate that transition from group stage dominance to the high stakes of the knockout rounds will be the next major test of their World Cup credentials.