US battle Paraguay in pressure-packed World Cup opener

The US will be under pressure to launch their 2026 Fifa World Cup campaign with a victory when they host underdogs Paraguay on Friday — and anything less is likely to raise concerns about the prospects of the tournament co-hosts. At 17th, they US is the highest-ranked team in Group D, while Paraguay are 41st among the tournament’s 48 teams and the lowest-ranked side in a group which also includes Australia and Turkey. The US are on a three-match winning streak against the South Americans, including a 2-1 friendly victory in November.

Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood will be rocking when the teams take to the field, and the home side will look to shake off the nerves by scoring early with a formidable attack featuring Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun. Defence is their weakness, and inexperienced goalkeeper Matt Freese may have to work hard. The US have only had one clean sheet in their past 13 games and have conceded 11 goals in their past four matches.

As co-hosts, the US did not have to qualify for the tournament while Paraguay had to come through the demanding Conmebol section, finishing last of the six automatic qualifiers in South America. Paraguay are in many ways the opposite of the US, with a physical backline that will try to slow the US attack but an offence that struggles to score, notching 14 goals in 18 games during World Cup qualifying “La Albirroja” are returning to the World Cup for the first time since losing to eventual champions Spain in the 2010 quarterfinals. Paraguay are in many ways the opposite of the US, with a physical backline that will try to slow the US attack but an offence that struggles to score, notching 14 goals in 18 games during World Cup qualifying.

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Paraguay will also be without their main forward Julio Enciso, who will miss the opener with a thigh injury. Paraguay will look to midfielder Diego Gomez to create chances and unleash dangerous shots from distance.

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