The United States start their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a home match against Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium as the co hosts look to make a strong start in front of their supporters.
The USA have good memories of previous World Cup campaigns on home soil after reaching the Round of 16 in 1994. They have also reached the knockout stage in each of their last three World Cup appearances and have lost only once in their previous nine group matches, with that defeat coming against eventual champions Germany in 2014.
However, Mauricio Pochettino’s side arrive at the tournament with mixed recent form after losing three of their first four matches of 2026. Even so, those defeats came against higher ranked opponents and the hosts will still believe they can begin with a positive result.
Paraguay return to the World Cup for the first time since 2010 following an impressive qualifying campaign in South America. They finished level on points with several of the continent’s strongest teams and built their success on a solid defence.
Goals have been harder to come by for Paraguay, who averaged less than one goal per game during qualification, but they come into the tournament after winning three of their last four matches and will hope to cause problems for the hosts.
History also favours the USA in this fixture. The Americans have won each of the last three meetings between the sides and all by a single goal margin. Their last World Cup meeting came in 1930 when the USA recorded a 3 nil victory.
Much of the attention will be on Christian Pulisic, who played a key role for the USA at the last World Cup and remains one of the team’s biggest attacking threats. Paraguay will look towards Miguel Almirón to provide creativity and attacking quality.
There are injury concerns for both teams before kick off. The USA are monitoring the fitness of Chris Richards, Tyler Adams and Antonee Robinson, while Paraguay are expected to be without Julio Enciso.
With Group D expected to be closely contested, both sides know that a strong opening result could prove important in the race for qualification.
