The United States men's national team are all set to play their FIFA World Cup 2026 opener against their Group D opponents Paraguay at the Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Mauricio Pochettino's talented, yet inconsistent team, will be looking to begin their campaign with a win against a tough Paraguay side.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV1 in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key details:
Date, kick-off time: Friday, June 12, 6 p.m. Los Angeles (9 p.m. EDT; 1 a.m. BST, 6.30 a.m. IST, Saturday and 11 a.m. AEST, Saturday)
Venue: Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood
Referee: Danny Makkelie
VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande
Team News
USMNT
No injury concerns.
Paraguay
Key player Julio Enciso is a doubt due to a muscle injury he sustained during the friendly against Nicaragua.
Talking points
Can the hosts overcome pressure?
As one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup, the USMNT will be keen to make a big impression. The appointment of the high-profile Pochettino as head coach in 2023 was a sign of ambition and now, almost three years later, the time has come for the Argentine to deliver.
Although Pochettino's side doesn't boast the same characteristics as his previous club teams, such as high pressing and fluid attacks, the USMNT do play with intensity and score goals. Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun are the key men up front and will be responsible for goals, though the likes of Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson, Giovanni Reyna, Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson will also be crucial in attack. They have been part of the national team for some time and are used to playing big matches in Europe for their respective clubs.
There's a lot of noise around the team with the burden of being a host nation coupled with recent results. In 2026 so far, the USMNT have played four matches and lost three of those against Germany, Portugal and Belgium. Their only 3-2 victory came against Senegal last week but Pochettino will be hoping that everything clicks in their opener against Paraguay.
Paraguay will bank on physicality
Paraguay are making their comeback to the World Cup after missing the last three editions. Last time they competed at the tournament in 2010, they made it to the quarterfinals. Gustavo Alfaro, 63, took charge as manager in 2024 and has finally guided Paraguay to a dream-return to the World Cup.
Alfaro achieved this by reverting the national team to its traditional style. Under previous coach Daniel Garnero, Paraguay had won just one of their six World Cup qualifying matches. Alfaro then took charge, pushing the team into playing a more physical game coupled with a robust defensive structure and the results were overwhelmingly positive. In the next 12 qualifying games that followed, they lost just once, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.
Under Alfaro, Paraguay will play like a typical tournament team, frustrating their opponents with a strong defence and exploiting them through counterattacks. There will be a great dependency on Julio Enciso's creativity, however, he sustained a muscle injury and will likely sit out their World Cup opener.