The USA’s World Cup 2026 will be kicked off in spectacular fashion following performances from Katy Perry and Future as the tournament co-hosts play Paraguay in their opening match of the tournament in Los Angeles.
Pop star Perry will be headlined the opening show in California, bringing down the curtain on the festivities after Shakira performance in Mexico City and Michael Buble and Alanis Morissette took to the stage before Canada’s first match.
The USA, managed by former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, will be expected to advance from a group that features tonight’s opponents Paraguay as well as Australia and Turkey, with an eye on progressing further too.
President Donald Trump will be notable by his absence at the SoFi Stadium, ahead of his 80th birthday celebrations in Washington this weekend, while empty seats and the World Cup’s mandatory drinks breaks have been controversial aspects of the tournament so far.
Follow live updates from the USA’s opening ceremony and the Paraguay match, below
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After decades trying to win the World Cup, shouldn’t the USA be better at football by now?
USA vs Paraguay LIVE: Latest World Cup updates
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- Katy Perry and Future to perform in kick-off show | Live from 12:30am BST, 4:30pm PT
Zlatan Ibrahimovic recalls iconic scissor kick goal against England
00:28 , Jack Rathborn“It was a magical moment to be honest, it was crazy, we were already winning 3-2, I didn't need to do it,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic recalls when discussing his iconic scissor kick against England while playing for Sweden.
“If you don't try it, you never know? Even if you fail, you still try, I did something crazy. If you don't succeed, you might look back, think about the team, but you have to try and if you fail, it doesn't matter.”
Fans and players arrive at SoFi Stadium
00:21 , Will Castle
T-minus 15 minutes from opening ceremony
00:17 , Will CastleWe are just 15 minutes away from the start of the USA’s World Cup opening ceremony!
International pop star Katy Perry headlines the spectacle in her home state, joined by rapper Future.
Tyla will also appear at her second ceremony having performed across the border in Mexico, along with Thai-born star Lisa from K-pop band Blackpink, Nigerian artist Rema and Brazilian singer Anitta.
Mexico and Canada have both delivered - will we have saved the best for last?
Star players to watch at World Cup 2026
00:03 , Jack Rathborn"Brazil is the team I looked at when I was young,” Clint Dempsey says. “My player is Vini Jr, especially under Ancelotti, it's yet to translate from club to national team. But you have to put your stamp on a World Cup.”
Landon Donovan adds: “There are certain superstars that become superstars in front of your eyes. Alex Freeman, didn’t play much at Orlando, now in the national team.
“Is he just there because his Dad was Antonio Freeman of the Green Bay Packers, he’s just got to Villarreal, I think he’ll start and become a real star.”
Star players to watch at World Cup 2026
23:56 , Jack Rathborn“I'm super excited to watch Yamal,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic says on Fox Sports. “This is a magic player, he changes the game.
“The best is... He's only 18 years old. I'm only afraid of how good he can become. Let's hope he can have a good tournament, let's enjoy him, because there are not a lot of them.”
Thierry Henry adds: “Michael Olise, we can talk about what he’s won, the best player in the Bundesliga, he doesn’t play the game, he thinks the game.
“For a coach he is a drink, he sees the game differently, he will not hide, what he does defensively.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has doubts over England's 'big stars' at World Cup 2026
23:47 , Jack Rathborn“Normally they have big stars, but let's see if they have big stars in the big tournament,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic says on Fox Sports.
“Then we have Croatia, I have roots from my mother's side, I am rooting for Modric to star, then we have Ghana, I think they can disturb England. Panama? I think they will be the punching bag of this group."
The unlikely Southampton influence behind Canada’s World Cup lift-off
23:39 , Will CastleSouthampton’s public relations department has had a torrid few weeks trying to clean up the internal idiocy of Spygate, but they’re about to get a rare windfall of goodwill from across the Atlantic. Over 3,000 miles west of St Mary’s, Saints have had an inadvertent hand in Canadian history.
Canada are on the board at the World Cup, for the first time ever. They went pointless in Qatar four years ago, just as they did during their World Cup bow at Mexico ‘86. Thanks to Cyle Larin’s late heroics in Toronto, this hoodoo on the biggest stage is over.
One third of a substitute masterclass from manager Jesse Marsch, Larin came off the bench to cancel out Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first-half opener with a stunning half-volley, instinctively striking across the ball to send it swerving past Nikola Vasilj and into the side-netting. It was a goal fitting of its importance in this country’s footballing history.
The unlikely Southampton influence behind Canada’s World Cup lift-off
SoFi Stadium ready for USA opener at World Cup 2026
23:31 , Jack Rathborn
Clint Dempsey highlights USA key to beat Paraguay in World Cup opener
23:22 , Jack Rathborn“Don't talk about it, be about it,” Clint Dempsey says on Fox Sports.
“This is where money is earned, your legacy, people will remember you for World Cups, it doesn't get any better than that. It was a chippy, hard-fought win, don’t think they will forget.
“The key for the USA tonight is coming up with ideas, opportunities in tight space, play forward quickly.”
Landon Donovan urges USA to seize moment and become 'absolute star'
23:14 , Jack Rathborn“The pitch is perfect, this is a rematch, it was chippy, it was feisty,” Landon Donovan says on Fox Sports.
“Mexico set the blueprint, Canada today, but USA need to win today. Don't be too excited or too emotional, you have to play the game and execute.
“There’s pressure, yes, but you can be an absolute star after this tournament.”
Is Donald Trump running scared from his own World Cup?
23:01 , Lawrence Ostlere in Los AngelesPerhaps it was just a coincidence, but Donald Trump was loudly booed in his hometown this week when he appeared at the NBA Finals in New York’s Madison Square Garden. He then decided against travelling to Los Angeles for the USA’s first game of the World Cup due to a “tight schedule”, according to the executive director of the White House, Andrew Giuliani.
One can imagine how the LA crowd would have reacted to images of Trump on the monstrous screen that hangs down over the SoFi Stadium. California is Democratic heartland and the noise would have been so undeniably, unavoidably hostile that even Trump would have had trouble denying the truth. The White House will instead send a party from Washington led by secretary of state Mark Rubio.
It is unusual for Trump, who doesn’t usually let a tight schedule get in the way of sports events. He has appeared at the Super Bowl, UFC fights, the Ryder Cup, the Fifa Club World Cup final and the men’s US Open final. Reactions have been mixed: he was booed at a World Series baseball game in 2019 and hit with chants of “Lock him up!”; there was a far warmer reception at the Ryder Cup, where the crowd of American golf fans looked not unlike an NRA convention.
Is Donald Trump running scared from his own World Cup?
Last night: Mexico send Fifa a telling reminder of what the World Cup must never lose
22:51 , Ed Malyon in Mexico CityThe World Cup got underway in frantic fashion last night as Mexico City beat South Africa at the Azteca - here’s Ed Malyon’s report:
If we are honest, as football fans, we needed this.
We needed an end to the gouging and the politicking and the shambles, to the power games and the bad faith actions of those who run the show.
What we needed was the show.
Thankfully that show has now begun and with the arrival of football the conversations can change a little.
Are Mexico contenders to win it all? No, not on this performance. And yet we can confidently say they will have the greatest home advantage of any team playing at this World Cup, not just because they have easily the most fervent support of the three co-hosts, but also the altitude and potentially the heat, which could benefit them against visitors to this beautifully chaotic, football-mad country.
Mexico send Fifa a telling reminder of what the World Cup must never lose
Predicted line-ups
22:41 , Will CastleUSA XI: Freese, Freeman, M. Robinson, Ream, A. Robinson, Dest, Adams, McKennie, Tillman, Pulisic, Balogun
Paraguay XI: Gill, Caceres, G. Gomez, Alderete, Alonso, D. Gomez, Bobadilla, Cubas, Almiron, D. Gonzalez, Sanabria
Team news
22:31 , Will CastleChris Richards is the main concern for Pochettino, with the Crystal Palace defender having only recently returned to training following an ankle injury.
Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun are expected to headline the attack.
Paraguay’s Julio Enciso picked up a quad issue in a 4-0 friendly win over Nicaragua but is expected to recover in time to feature.
When is USA vs Paraguay?
22:21 , Will CastleWe’ll of course be bringing you all the action from the United States’ World Cup opener after the opening ceremony.
The US begin their campaign against Paraguay, with kick-off at 9pm ET and 6pm PT on Friday 12 June (2am BST on Saturday 13) at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
Why won't Donald Trump be at the game?
22:11 , Lawrence OstlereDonald Trump will be absent from the Los Angeles Stadium when USA begin their 2026 World Cup against Paraguay tonight, it has been confirmed.
State figureheads usually appear at their country’s first match of the tournament and Trump was expected to be in the stands. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended Qatar’s opening game against Ecuador in 2022, and Vladimir Putin watched Russia’s first game of the 2018 World Cup against Saudi Arabia in Moscow.
But the US president will not attend instead leaving secretary of state Mark Rubio to travel from Washington with transport secretary Sean Duffy and secretary of homeland security Markwayne Mullin.
Andrew Giuliani, the World Cup task force’s CEO, has confirmed Trump’s plans. “He’s not going to end up attending the opening game,” Giuliani told TalkSport. “As we’ve said, his scheduling is tight. But I know he’s going to be engaged throughout this World Cup.
“But the one thing, having known President Trump for now 30 years, what I can tell you is: expect the unexpected. Always expect a cliffhanger with him. Throughout the course of this tournament, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see him engage more and more with the World Cup.”
Full story:
Why Trump will snub USA’s World Cup game – and the one sporting event he will attend
Canada get World Cup lift-off after late Larin equaliser
22:09 , Will CastleWith the US still to come, Canada are off the mark!
Co-hosts Canada have World Cup 2026 lift-off after hitting back against Bosnia and Herzogovina in a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Toronto.
Following a star-studded opening ceremony, including Michael Buble and Alanis Morissette, Jesse Marsch’s side fell behind thanks to a first-half header from Jovo Lukic.
But Cyle Larin came off the bench to equalise with a fantastic half-volley in the latter stages before late pressure almost forced a famous comeback victory.
After decades trying to win the World Cup, shouldn’t the USA be better at football by now?
22:01 , Lawrence Ostlere in Los AngelesBefore the 1994 World Cup, the American columnist Tom Weir wrote a withering assessment of the sport his country was about to host. “Hating soccer,” he said in USA Today, “is more American than mom’s apple pie, driving a pick-up or spending Saturday afternoon channel-surfing with the remote control.”
Not everyone shared Weir’s disdain, given record attendances at USA ‘94. But even today there remains a lingering perspective, mainly among conservative men of a certain age, that soccer is a sport for girls and sissy boys who dive to the floor on first contact, whereas real American sports involve tough guys running, jumping or, in Nascar’s case, driving into one another.
It is a tired old trope that you don’t tend to find around the rest of the world, and it begins to explain America’s challenge in building a men’s team to match their women and win the World Cup.
After decades trying to win the World Cup, why aren’t USA any better at football?
Will we get another Diana Ross moment?
21:51 , Will CastleThe US has a history of memorable moments when it comes to World Cup opening ceremonies, with Diana Ross's missed penalty ahead of the 1994 World Cup in Chicago going down in hilarious infamy.
Will Katy Perry top this, maybe by leathering one into the back of a steward? Probably not, but a man can dream.
🇺🇸 #OnThisDay in 1994: Diana Ross kicked off the 1994 World Cup in Chicago.
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) June 17, 2024
Shocking run-up for the penalty, to be fair. 🤦♂️pic.twitter.com/ny9IFWHOp6
Who is performing?
21:41 , Will CastleInternational pop star Katy Perry will headline in her home state, joined by rapper Future.
Tyla will also appear at her second ceremony having performed across the border in Mexico, along with Thai-born star Lisa from K-pop band Blackpink, Nigerian artist Rema and Brazilian singer Anitta.
How can I watch the opening ceremony and USA vs Paraguay?
21:36 , Will CastleViewers in the UK can watch the game for free on BBC One or stream it live on BBC iPlayer.
Viewers in the US can watch the game on FOX and Tubi, while a Spanish-language broadcast will be available on Telemundo.
When is the USA's opening ceremony?
21:31 , Will CastleThe United States will put on the third and final World Cup opening ceremony tonight, hoping to upstage Canada and Mexico by saving the best ‘til last.
It will get starts 12:30am BST on Saturday 13 June (i.e. tonight) at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles - the newest stadium being used at this summer’s tournament.
World Cup 2026 USA opening ceremony LIVE!
21:26 , Will CastleThe USA’s World Cup 2026 will be kicked off in spectacular fashion following performances from Katy Perry and Future as the tournament co-hosts play Paraguay in their opening match of the tournament in Los Angeles.
Pop star Perry will be headlined the opening show in California, bringing down the curtain on the festivities after Shakira performance in Mexico City and Michael Buble and Alanis Morissette took to the stage before Canada’s first match.
The USA, managed by former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, will be expected to advance from a group that features tonight’s opponents Paraguay as well as Australia and Turkey, with an eye on progressing further too.
President Donald Trump will be notable by his absence at the SoFi Stadium, ahead of his 80th birthday celebrations in Washington this weekend, while empty seats and the World Cup’s mandatory drinks breaks have been controversial aspects of the tournament so far.
Good evening!
20:20 , Will CastleHello there and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the United States’ World Cup opening ceremony ahead of the host nation’s curtain-raiser with Paraguay!
We’ll bring you all the latest from the extravaganza at SoFi Stadium, which will be headlined by Future and Katy Perry, before sinking our teeth into some proper World Cup action.
Stay tuned!
