LIVE. USA – Paraguay, the first match in Group D at the World Cup » Pochettino's Americans debut at home
Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published Friday, June 12, 2026, 1:18 p.m. / Updated Friday, June 12, 2026, 1:18 p.m.
US and Paraguay they meet tonight, from 04:00. The match at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will be able to be watched in live text format on GSP.ro and will be broadcast on TV by Antena 1.
It will be the first match for the two teams at the 2026 World Cup. They have been drawn in Group D alongside Australia and Turkey.
LIVE TIME 04:00 » USA – Paraguay
Probable Teams for USA – Paraguay:
USA (3-4-2-1): Freese – Freeman, M. Robinson, Ream – Dest, McKennie, Adams, A. Robinson – Pulisic, Tillman – Balogun
Coach: Mauricio Pochettino
Paraguay (4-2-3-1): Gill – Caceres, G. Gomez, Alderete, Alonso – Bobadilla, Cubas – D. Gomez, Enciso, Almiron – Sanabria
Coach: Gustavo Alfaro
What does group D look like?
Group D is one of the most balanced of the competition and also includes Turkey and Australia. For the Americans, the goal is clear: qualify for the round of 16 and win the group to avoid a strong opponent in the first knockout phase.
Paraguay, on the other hand, know that a positive result tonight could open their way to the knockout stages. With Australia and Turkey scheduled in the next stages, the South Americans hope to come away with points from the duel with the group favourites.
USA, home field advantage
With Mauricio Pochettino on the bench, results in recent months have been wobbly. The Americans lost to Belgium (2-5) and Portugal (0-2) in March.
However, ahead of their World Cup debut, the USA also offered reasons for optimism. They beat Senegal 3-2 in a match where Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun were decisive, and then went down on the limit to Germany 1-2 after a solid performance.
Paraguay comes without pressure
Paraguay is ranked 40th in the FIFA rankings, but the course of the South American qualifiers and the results of the last few months show that Gustavo Alfaro's formation is much more dangerous than the position in the hierarchy suggests.
The South Americans beat Mexico 2-1 and Greece 1-0 in warm-up matches and showed excellent defensive organisation.
Alfaro's style is well known: compact defensive block and quick transitions. Paraguay will not try to dominate possession, but will look to take advantage of the spaces left by the Americans and the speed of players like Miguel Almiron and Julio Enciso.
One of the keys to the game will be the midfield battle. Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie are tasked with controlling the tempo of the game and limiting the South Americans' counter-attacks. At the same time, Christian Pulisic will try to find spaces between Paraguay's defensive lines and take advantage of Folarin Balogun's runs deep.
The 1994 World Cup marked the moment when soccer began to gain ground in the United States. Now, more than three decades later, the Americans are hoping that Pulisic's generation will turn this edition into a new benchmark for US sports.
More than 70,000 spectators are expected at SoFi Stadium, and the atmosphere promises to be spectacular at the hosts' first match of this World Cup.
How the two teams got to the World Cup
Paraguay qualified for the 2026 World Cup after finishing in one of the top six places in the single group of the CONMEBOL qualifiers. The ticket to the final tournament was mathematically secured on September 5, 2025, in the penultimate stage, after a 0-0 draw with Ecuador.
For “La Albirroja” it is a return to a World Championship after 16 years, the last participation dating back to 2010. The United States of America automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup as a co-organizing country, along with Canada and Mexico, which is why they did not compete in the CONCACAF preliminaries.
