Here's the latest
• The USA on deck: We’re minutes away from the United States’ debut match against Paraguay in Los Angeles.
• Opening ceremonies: Future, Tyla, Lisa and Anitta headlined the celebrations in the US ahead of the match. Canada’s ceremony in Toronto featured performances from Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé and Alessia Cara.
• Canada opens with a draw: Canada concluded its opening World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina with a 1-1 draw, scoring a second-half equalizer in front of a hype Toronto crowd.
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Cobertura en directo en español del Mundial en CNN en Español.
Scenes at SoFi Stadium as national anthems are played
As SoFi Stadium fills up with fans ahead of kick off between the USMNT and Paraguay, the national anthems for both countries are about to be played.
But first lets hear from Katy Perry, singing “Wonder.”
Both teams walked on to the pitch to a roar from the crowd as “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project rings out.
The Paraguayan national anthem was played first and then Dan + Shay did a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the USA.
We are just about ready for game time!
Katy Perry performs, but the stars are the volunteers
Katy Perry has just performed her song “Wonder” before the match as kickoff nears.
It’s all a part of a hectic pregame ceremony. The volunteers charged with changing sets on the field might run more than the players.
They’ve been scurrying in and out more or less since 7:30 p.m. ET, setting up one performance after another.
Why Harry Potter could propel the US to a magical run
The US Men’s National Team (USMNT) won’t be able to use magic to win the FIFA World Cup, but if they could, Weston McKennie says he’s got a couple of tricks up his sleeve.
The 27-year-old McKennie says he used to feel like the odd man out. When the American midfield soccer star arrived at Italian giant Juventus in Turin, he was surrounded by world-class players who all had their own unique goal celebrations.
“I was never a player that really scored a lot,” McKennie told CNN, but whenever he did find the back of the net, “I would just run back to midfield and line up to go again.”
And then the goals started flowing. “I was like, ‘OK, let me try and create a signature celebration for myself. What’s unique for me? What do I really like?’” he said. “I loved Harry Potter since I was young, so I was like, ‘OK, let me just cast a spell.’”
How big a Potter fan is McKennie? “Big enough to have a tattoo of his scar on my finger.”
In January 2021, McKennie scored for Juve in Italy’s Serie A against Bologna, and the first spell was cast, a celebration that featured him rotating his right wrist three times and leaning forward with a pretend wand in his hand.
Five years later, McKennie says that his celebration has become so iconic that he sees fans doing it in the crowd, and he’s stopped by people in the street, asking to perform the celebration with them in videos.
Read more about McKennie’s love for Harry Potter on the pitch here.
It's not just the Christian Pulisic for Team USA anymore. But he's still their leading man
Christian Pulisic has dealt with being deemed America’s men’s soccer savior for so long that it’s just part of his existence.
It’s a title no one can really live up to – one player cannot simply erase generations of lagging behind the rest of the world in the globe’s most popular game, no matter how talented – but it has been foisted upon Pulisic since he was a teenager. Such is the price one pays for being the best-known American player in a sport where the USA has never truly excelled in the men’s game.
But if Pulisic plays in the tournament the way he did against Senegal in Charlotte two weeks ago, then he might do that rarest of things in sports: Live up to expectations. And if his teammates support him the way they did as they sliced Senegal open over and over on the Bank of America turf, then they might do that rarest of things for a Team USA squad at the World Cup: exceed expectations.
Four years ago, the US’ World Cup run was basically the Christian Pulisic Show and the team went as far as he could take them. The offensive firepower on display in Charlotte indicated that the supporting cast has taken a huge leap in the ensuing World Cup cycle. Pulisic might still be the face of the team, but players like Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah are the ones who will be relied upon for the US to keep playing into July.
USA defender Joe Scally living a "dream"
The 23-year-old spoke ahead of his nation’s first group stage match and summed up the feelings about playing in a World Cup on home soil.
Scally has traded MLS for Germany and now plays in the Bundesliga for Borussia Mönchengladbach, but he’s one of the lucky players competing at a home tournament this summer.
Paraguayan fans are making themselves heard in LA
Definitely a fair share of Paraguay fans here, and they are pumped, singing and on their feet here 25 minutes before game time.
It’s clearly a very pro-US crowd but what Paraguay lacks in numbers comparison, they’re making up for in volume and passion.
Of course, the US doesn’t really have a rally song. Might need to work on that
It's time for the USA to make a leap at the 2026 World Cup
It’s been 24 years since the United States men’s team reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
That highly impressive run came in 2002, when the tournament was co-hosted by both South Korea and Japan.
I was part of the CNN team on the ground there for a World Cup that year that was being played in Asia for the first time ever.
Names such as the captain Claudio Reyna, Brad Friedel, Brian McBride as well as a very young Landon Donovan were very much the inspiring backbone of the team.
The Americans – having beaten Portugal 3-2 in group play – beat huge rival Mexico in the round of 16 before going on to the quarterfinals where they lost narrowly 1-0 to Germany. A hugely controversial defeat it was too, given the USA had strong claims for a penalty denied early in the second half.
As encouraging as that run was, the United States have failed to build on that momentum in the years that have passed.
Since the 2002 tournament was played, the Stars and Stripes haven’t been able to get past the round of 16.
In fact, in 2018 when the tournament was played in Russia, they didn’t even qualify at all.
This is a different era though and Mauricio Pochettino has a wealth of talent at his disposal.
Many of his players are employed by some of the biggest names in European soccer and it’s absolutely vital that those same players now deliver with the eyes of the world upon them.
It’s time for America’s men’s national team to really step up to the plate on the biggest of stages and fulfil the immense talent the squad undoubtedly has.
The time for talk is over.
The time to deliver is now.
Some World Cup fans opted to skip US matches amid stricter immigration policies
President Donald Trump’s clampdown on US immigration policies is having an impact on this year’s World Cup events, as some fans decided not to catch a match stateside.
Steve Schwarzbach has attended every World Cup event since 2006. He had no apprehensions about attending the games in countries such as South Africa and Brazil, which can have a reputation of being dangerous for tourists.
But this year, the German national has made the conscious decision to boycott the games in the US – despite getting access to two tickets for $1,600 to the quarterfinals and semifinals, games that are scheduled to be played in US stadiums.
Aside from political beliefs and safety concerns, Trump’s travel ban on 39 countries — mostly non-White, African or Muslim-majority countries — also excludes huge groups of international fans.
Canadian software developer Omar Hassan, 34, scored tickets to two matches in Boston and New York. The Montrealer was originally going to go with a friend and a cousin who lives in Dubai. But his cousin is a Tanzanian national, one of the countries under a partial travel ban.
At the time of writing, Hassan said the trio is likely to resell the tickets, forgoing the US matches altogether and sticking to Toronto, where he also has game tickets.
As someone who is vocally critical of Trump’s policies in WhatsApp group chats, Hassan said he believes he risks being turned away at the border and having his phone confiscated.
The US national team's road to the World Cup
Even for a host nation, the path to the World Cup is one filled with adversity that requires patience and determination.
CNN’s Elex Michaelson spoke with Rand Getlin, director of the original documentary series “US Against the World: Four Years with the Men’s National Soccer Team,” focusing on the team’s long, pressure-filled road to the World Cup.
Watch the video here:
The Americans are waiting to make an entrance for warmups
The USMNT must really want to make an entrance.
Paraguay has been on the field for warmups for a good seven minutes and no sign of the US yet.
Fans are getting antsy, waiting to erupt.
Soccer icon Gary Lineker says USMNT have "absolutely zero chance" of winning the World Cup
Although things have been looking up for the US Men’s National Team (USMNT), English football legend Gary Lineker still says they have a long ways to go before they win a World Cup.
Lineker is regarded as one of the best strikers of his era, winning the Golden Boot as the top scorer at the 1986 World Cup. In an interview with CNN Sport, Lineker said USMNT have “absolutely zero chance” of taking the tournament’s coveted trophy home.
Watch Lineker’s interview with CNN Sport’s Don Riddell here:
Here is the Paraguay lineup vs. USMNT
Paraguay’s squad against hosts United States will be as follows:
La Albirroja will be led by Brighton & Hove Albion’s Diego Gomez and Strasbourg’s Julio Enciso.
Here is the USMNT lineup vs. Paraguay
The USA is fielding one of their most competitive squads in its first time hosting the World Cup since 1994.
Headlined by AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic, the team is hoping to ride the host nation momentum in Los Angeles.
Celebs in the house in Hollywood
The big board just caught a few celebrities here – Halle Berry, Rob Lowe and Paris Hilton.
On brand, Hilton was on her phone the whole time, snapping selfies. She never saw herself on the screen.
Opening ceremony ahead of USA-Paraguay game gets started
The pre game festivities have begun with a drum line. The seats are filling up fast for an event still more than an hour away.
People are definitely here for the spectacle as much as the game. Performing are Future and Tyla; and Lisa, Anitta and Rema.
The US becomes a two-time World Cup host this year. Look back on their first time as hosts
The US hosted the 15th edition of the World Cup in 1994. At the time, there was doubt about the country’s dedication to the sport, but hosting the tournament proved to be a catalyst for soccer’s popularity boost in the US.
Though the US was eliminated in the Round of 16 in its debut hosting the World Cup, the festivities inspired a soccer movement in the country. Major League Soccer, the first-ever American professional soccer league, was established two years later. Now, the league welcomes international superstars like World Cup winners Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller.
The 1994 World Cup was the first edition to end in a penalty shootout, with Brazil ultimately prevailing over Italy in the final match. The edition is also notable for being Argentine legend Diego Maradona’s last appearance in the tournament.
Since the 1994 tournament, the US has made leaps and bounds in their national soccer programs. This year USMNT is fielding a formidable squad, led by 27-year-old Christian Pulisic. They’re hoping to set the tone with a strong start in the first match against Paraguay today.
Passionate fan gearing up for his 3rd World Cup since 1990, this time with his son
CNN’s Coy Wire spoke with a man and his son on their way to the USA’s opening game against Paraguay. The moment brought special memories and emotions to the father.
Previewing one of Paraguay’s key players, Diego Gómez
Back in their first World Cup since 2010, one of the team’s central players will be midfielder 23-year-old Diego Gómez.
Gómez currently plays for Brighton & Hove Albion FC in the Premier League, but he first cut his teeth in Paraguay, kicking off his professional soccer career with Club Libertad in Asunción.
In July 2023, Gómez went on to join the most prominent American league, Major League Soccer, where he played for Inter Miami alongside the one and only Lionel Messi. He left for the Premier League in December 2024, but not before contributing to Inter’s first Leagues Cup win.
Gómez is considered a versatile midfield engine for Paraguay’s offense, a team powered by a mix of youth and experience. He was just seven years old the last time Paraguay took the World Cup pitch, so he’ll look to channel that excitement into results in the tournament.
Tickets for tonight's opening USA game are basically gone
Chatting with a gentleman from Telemundo who said he met some fans from Paraguay at his hotel. They came to Los Angeles from Miami and planned to buy tickets as game got closer.
I don’t like their odds. Just checked both StubHub and SeatGeek. Both are showing no tickets available for the game.
The price tag is high. The demand is higher.
"I blacked out," says USA midfielder Tyler Adams after NBA Finals drama
On Friday night, Tyler Adams will play in inarguably the most important game of his career.
But fandom is fandom and Adams, born in Poughkeepsie and raised in Wappinger Falls, was born in February 1999, has been loving watching the New York Knicks.
The video of his and his teammates’ celebration, along with going viral, was endearingly real, a snapshot of how – no matter the level of personal fame or athletic success – at the core everyone is a little kid rooting for his team.
“I mean, listen, I have group chats with me and my boys from back home growing up, and we’ve always been Knicks fans,’’ Adams told CNN Sports. “We’ve never been this close, so it’s exciting. I blacked out.’’
