The USMNT's 2026 World Cup begins Friday night. Co-hosts USA welcome Paraguay to Los Angeles Stadium for their Group D opener — one of the most anticipated games in American soccer history, and the first World Cup match played on US soil since 1994.
Manuel "Pulis" Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman, Folarin Balogun — the Mauricio Pochettino era arrives at the moment it's been building toward. The two sides last met in November in Chester, PA, with USA winning 2-1.
Likely starting XI (USA)
Freese; Freeman, M. Robinson, Ream, A. Robinson; Dest, Adams, McKennie, Tillman, Pulisic; Balogun.
Likely starting XI (Paraguay)
Gill; Caceres, G. Gomez, Alderete, Alonso; D. Gomez, Bobadilla, Cubas, Almiron; D. Gonzalez, Sanabria. Paraguay is back at the World Cup for the first time since 2010 after a sixth-place CONMEBOL finish.
A little history
USA and Paraguay have only met once before at a World Cup — in 1930, at the inaugural global showpiece. The Stars and Stripes won 3-0 thanks to a Bert Patenaude hat-trick: the first hat-trick in World Cup history.
Where to watch in Atlanta
Friday June 12, kickoff 9:00 p.m. ET from Los Angeles Stadium. Cosm Atlanta is showing it pitchside in Shared Reality at Centennial Yards. Expect packed crowds at Rise ATL (also at Centennial Yards) and across downtown.
Source: FIFA — "USA v Paraguay: Live stream, team news, tickets and more".