U.S. Opens 2026 World Cup at SoFi Stadium Against Paraguay

The United States opened its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign Friday night in Los Angeles, facing Paraguay in a Group D match before a prime-time home crowd at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The occasion carries unusual weight for the Americans beyond the result of one group-stage game. The United States is one of the tournament’s three co-hosts, along with Canada and Mexico, and this is the men’s national team’s first World Cup match on home soil since 1994. In the first men’s World Cup expanded to 48 teams, the opener also sets the tone in a group that includes Australia and Türkiye.

The clearest pre-kickoff news centered on Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup, with Matt Freese chosen to start in goal for the United States in the tournament opener. The reported U.S. starting XI was Freese; A. Freeman, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson; Malik Tillman, Tyler Adams, Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun.

Ream was listed as captain for the Americans, who opened with a core of expected leaders around Freese. Pulisic and McKennie were in the attack-minded midfield group, Adams anchored the middle, and Balogun led the front line.

Paraguay, coached by Gustavo Alfaro, returned to the World Cup for the first time since 2010, ending a 16-year absence from the tournament. The reported Paraguay starting XI was O. Gill; J. Cáceres, Gustavo Gómez, O. Alderete, J. Alonso; D. Gómez, A. Cubas, D. Bobadilla, Miguel Almirón, Antonio Sanabria and Julio Enciso. Center back Gustavo Gómez was listed as captain.

Kickoff was set for 6 p.m. local time in Los Angeles, or 9 p.m. ET. The game is being played at SoFi Stadium, the NFL venue in Inglewood that FIFA tournament materials refer to as “Los Angeles Stadium.” World Cup matches at the venue are set up for roughly 70,000 spectators.

In the United States, the match is being shown by FOX in English and Telemundo in Spanish. The listed referee was Danny Makkelie of the Netherlands, with Carlos del Cerro Grande of Spain assigned as the video assistant referee, or VAR — the official who reviews plays on video for potential corrections.

Friday’s match is the United States’ first step in Group D, where the top teams will try to advance to the knockout stage. With the field now larger, opening matches remain critical for establishing position in the group.

The game also adds another chapter to a familiar matchup. According to U.S. Soccer, this is the 10th all-time meeting between the United States and Paraguay. The Americans entered with a 5-2-2 record in the series and had won the most recent meeting, 2-1 on Nov. 16, 2025.