The United States men's national soccer team opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a 4-1 victory against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on June 12, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, began US matches at this venue [4, 5, 6, 7].

Coach Mauricio Pochettino, appointed in September 2024, led the squad to a dominant performance marked by attacking fluidity and multiple paths to scoring [8, 9, 3, 6, 10, 7]. Pulisic and Folarin Balogun starred for the US, with Balogun scoring twice in the match [1, 3]. Pochettino credited the win to collective team effort rather than individual play, saying, "It was the collective approach. Amazing, they were amazing. We can do amazing things if the fans are in this way" [3].

The US squad consists of 26 players evenly split between 13 veterans with World Cup experience and 13 newcomers [8, 6, 10]. Captain Tim Ream emphasized embracing the pressure and enjoying the moment, calling it a "once-in-a-career opportunity" for the home team [4, 11, 6, 10]. Ream said, "This is a once-in-a-career opportunity. With that comes more expectation, more pressure, but at the same time, we have to enjoy it. There's nobody putting more expectation and more pressure on us than ourselves" [4].

The US entered Group D ranked 17th globally, the highest in the group, while Paraguay was 41st [5, 12]. Paraguay’s key forward Julio Enciso missed the match due to a thigh injury [5, 12]. Prior to the tournament, the US had won three straight matches against Paraguay, including a 2-1 friendly in November 2025 [5, 12].

Goalkeeper decisions between Matt Turner and Matt Freese were finalized late, reflecting some uncertainty ahead of the match [9, 12, 7]. The US had conceded 11 goals in their last four pre-tournament games and kept only one clean sheet in 13 matches before the World Cup [5, 12]. Warmup matches included a 3-2 win over Senegal and a narrow 2-1 loss to Germany [8, 9, 6, 7].

The team has garnered strong fan support, with around 5,000 attending public training sessions before the kickoff [4]. Pochettino underlined playing with passion to make fans proud, saying, "Play with passion. We need to win games, so important, but play with passion and make the fans feel proud about what they are seeing on the field" [9].

The US next faces their Group D opponents with momentum from this opening result. The team’s progress will continue to be closely watched as the tournament unfolds across North America.