The United States men's national team opens its 2026 World Cup on Friday night against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California — the first World Cup match the US has played on home soil in more than three decades. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Pacific time, with an opening ceremony preceding the match.

The stakes have been circled on US Soccer's calendar for nearly a decade. The Americans' best modern World Cup finish remains the 2002 quarterfinal run; since then the program has managed just three total wins across all World Cups. The 1994 home tournament, the last on US soil, ended in a round-of-16 exit.

This time the hosts bring what many consider the most talented generation American soccer has produced. Christian Pulisic, now 27 and a star at AC Milan, leads the attack with 33 goals in 88 international appearances. Midfielder Tyler Adams and defenders Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson are regulars in the English Premier League, while Weston McKennie holds down a key role at Juventus.

'This is for me the biggest opportunity to grow the game, to inspire people, to show that American players are at the level of the rest of the world,' Adams said Thursday.

Paraguay, ranked 40th by FIFA and back at a World Cup after a 16-year absence, arrives hobbled: its brightest young talent, 22-year-old midfielder Julio Enciso, was ruled out after being stretchered off in a warm-up match last week. Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron remains the principal attacking threat. The teams met in a November friendly that the US won 2-1, a match that boiled over into a stoppage-time scuffle. 'We know that they're gonna be super, super aggressive, so we're going to have to match that,' US forward Tim Weah said.

Oddsmakers make the hosts modest favorites — Opta gives the US a 40.1 percent win probability against 33.3 percent for Paraguay. Paraguay's president, Santiago Pena, has confirmed he will attend; President Trump's attendance remained unconfirmed as of Friday morning.

The path beyond Friday is forgiving. The expanded 48-team format means a win over Paraguay, plus a result against Australia next week or Turkey on June 25, would likely send the US through to the knockout rounds — though topping Group D would earn a friendlier bracket.