Match Preview: USA vs. Paraguay

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Hooligan Soccer

·12 June 2026

Match Preview: USA vs. Paraguay

The United States will kick off their World Cup campaign on Friday in Inglewood, CA as they face off against Paraguay. And whilst they are only just returning to the world’s biggest competition after 16 years, there’s reason to believe that La Albirroja could present some serious challenges for the co-hosts.

Two Argentine Managers Face Off

It will be a battle of two Argentine managers in the greater Los Angeles area, as Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT takes on Gustavo Alfaro’s Paraguay. After honing his international coaching skills with Ecuador and Costa Rica, Alfaro took charge of a Paraguay side that had just crashed out of the 2024 Copa América group stage with zero points.

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He’s quickly managed to address the situation, with Paraguay avoiding defeat in 11 out of 12 World Cup qualifiers and pulling off impressive wins against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Paraguay don’t have the strongest of attacks — apart from this week’s 4-0 drubbing of Nicaragua, they haven’t scored over two goals in a single match since March 2022. But what they do have is a team.

It’s precisely this team-oriented, disciplined unit that has enabled Paraguay to punch above their weight and finish sixth, ahead of Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru and Chile in World Cup qualifying. They’ve kept three clean sheets in their last four official matches, and they’ve only conceded 2+ goals in two official matches since Alfaro’s arrival.

Pochettino also took charge on the back of an abysmal group stage exit in the Copa América, but there is one key difference. Whereas Alfaro had to steer Paraguay through a perilous qualifying phase, Pochettino hasn’t had any World Cup qualifiers to test his side’s competitive mettle.

Apart from the Concacaf Nations League Finals, where the USA beat Jamaica twice before losing to Panama and Canada, their sole taste of competitive football under Pochettino came in the 2025 Gold Cup. However, they were unable to truly capitalize on it and gel as a unit, with certain players like Weston McKennie missing out due to the FIFA Club World Cup and others like Christian Pulisic deciding to skip the event.

USMNT Have Confidence

Despite this lack of chemistry, the USA will be liking their chances of starting the tournament with a valuable three points, having beaten Paraguay 1-0 in the 2016 Copa América on home soil before edging them 1-0 in a 2018 friendly. They reunited in November, with goals from Giovanni Reyna and Folarin Balogun seeing them prevail 2-1 in Pennsylvania.

Each of the last four matches between these two sides have been decided by just one goal, and there’s reason to expect a similarly cagey fixture. Both sides will be looking for an opening day victory, but they’ll also be in no doubt of just how damning a defeat would be heading into their next two matches vs. Australia and Türkiye.

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The USMNT have come undone against similar or higher-level opponents under Pochettino, losing in friendlies to Canada, Mexico, Türkiye and Switzerland, before falling to Mexico in the Gold Cup Final, followed by a defeat to South Korea. They’ve lost three of their last four matches vs. Belgium, Portugal and Germany, and they’ve conceded 2+ goals in their last four.

Paraguay, for their part, have lost in three of their last four matches vs. World Cup-participating sides, conceding 2+ goals in four of their last five vs. teams that will be competing in this summer’s tournament. Both managers will be seeking to keep their cards close to their chest and avoid leaking goals, knowing that, whilst a draw gives them a decent chance of qualifying as a third-place team, a defeat would be catastrophic.

USMNT Starting XI

There are several guarantees in Pochettino’s starting XI: Pulisic and Balogun will start in attack alongside Malik Tillman, whilst Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie will man the double pivot and Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson will occupy the wingback positions.

The biggest concerns, however, come in the backline. An MLS goalkeeper will start at the World Cup for the first time ever for the USA, but will it be New England Revolution’s Matt Freese or New York City FC’s Matt Turner? And with Chris Richards likely to miss out due to injury, can Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie and captain Tim Ream step up and deliver in defense?

Paraguay Starting XI

As for Paraguay, veteran goalkeeper Roberto ‘El Gatito’ Fernández will start between the sticks, with Gustavo Gómez and Omar Alderete manning the backline. Juan Cáceres and Junior Alonso should start at the fullback positions, with Damián Bobadilla and Diego Gómez playing in midfield.

Miguel Almirón, Ramón Sosa and Julio Enciso all possess plenty of creativity and tactical nous, and they’re more than capable of wreaking havoc in transition and carving out opportunities in the final third. The bigger question, though, is whether center forward Antonio Sanabria, who hasn’t scored since December 7, is capable of shaking off his recent struggles and bouncing back from his relegation with Cremonese.

Stay tuned for what promises to be an enthralling match-up in Southern California.