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Los Angeles will serve as the stage for the final of the three co-hosts to kick off their World Cup campaign.

Following opening matches for Mexico and Canada, the United States of America will complete the trio of ceremonies for the 2026 World Cup when they take on Paraguay in the Los Angeles area.

The first fixture in Group D evokes memories of the inaugural World Cup in 1930, when the United States defeated Paraguay 3-0 in the group stage, with Bert Patenaude netting the first-ever hat-trick in the competition’s history — at least officially.

Of course, that historic result is unlikely to influence this encounter. So, what can we expect this time around?

As one of the co-host nations, the US team did not need to navigate the qualification process, instead playing a string of friendly matches with highly inconsistent outcomes.

Under Mauricio Pochettino, the side reached the CONCACAF Gold Cup final last summer before falling to Mexico. Since then, their performances have swung dramatically — from a stunning 5-1 victory over Uruguay last November to a heavy 5-2 defeat at home to Belgium in March.

Pochettino’s flexible 3-4-3 formation relies heavily on Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest to provide attacking width down the flanks.

Weston McKennie has quietly emerged as the team’s tempo-setter, operating effectively alongside Folarin Balogun on the right-hand side.

However, much of the United States’ creative threat and goal-scoring responsibility will rest on the shoulders of Christian Pulisic, who enjoys a free role drifting in from the left of the front three.

Paraguay, on the other hand, have endured a turbulent spell in recent years — including managerial upheaval, a poor start to qualification, and a disappointing group-stage exit from the 2024 Copa America.

Nevertheless, they turned their fortunes around after appointing Gustavo Alfaro from Costa Rica, registering impressive wins over Brazil, Uruguay, and reigning world champions Argentina to secure automatic qualification. Despite scoring only 14 goals across 18 qualifying games, Paraguay’s defensive organisation has become their defining strength.

Interestingly, these two sides faced each other in a friendly less than eight months ago, where the United States triumphed 2-1.

It’s worth noting, though, that Paraguay played the entire second half with ten men after Omar Alderete was shown a red card.

Even so, the United States enter this contest as slight favourites, and with home advantage on their side, that prediction appears justified.

Score prediction: United States 1-0 Paraguay