US face Paraguay in World Cup Group D opener at SoFi as co-hosts seek home advantage

The United States open their 2026 World Cup campaign against Paraguay, 32 years after last staging the tournament, with co-hosts seeking to harness home support in Los Angeles. Led by Mauricio Pochettino, the US have made the knockouts in 7 of 11 tournaments, their best a 1930 semi-final; Paraguay return after three absences, last reaching the 2010 quarter-finals against Spain. Group D rivals Australia seek to go beyond the last 16, while Turkiye return after 24 years, semi-finalists in 2002.

Al Jazeera's Tom Sizeland explains. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.news/AJEMobile

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