{"id":851,"date":"2026-06-11T19:46:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=851"},"modified":"2026-06-11T19:46:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:46:58","slug":"first-up-for-the-u-s-mens-national-team-paraguay-here-are-our-predictions-for-americas-world-cup-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=851","title":{"rendered":"First up for the U.S. men\u2019s national team? Paraguay. Here are our predictions for America\u2019s World Cup opener."},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><div><audio><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p>America getting out of  its group on American soil.<\/p><div><\/div><p>In this World Cup, that is the first goal \u2014 and the road begins  Friday when the U.S. men\u2019s national team kicks off against Paraguay (9 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo).<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=849\">A Chester man who opened fire at his workplace, killing two people, is on trial for murder<\/a><\/p><div><\/div><div><div><div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><\/div><p>Paraguay is the first of three matches for the United States in Group D, where they\u2019ll also face Australia (June 19, 3 p.m.) and Turkey (June 25, 10 p.m.).<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p>It\u2019s a group from which many feel the U.S. can emerge, and a recent pair of tuneup matches against Senegal and Germany  provided additional validation.<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p>Paraguay is also a team the U.S. defeated 2-1  at Subaru Park in Chester just eight months earlier, with a sizable contingent of players who qualified for head coach Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s World Cup roster. <\/p><div><\/div><p>We\u2019ve been watching since the beginning of qualifying cycles, which, as the host nation, the U.S. didn\u2019t need to qualify for. Along the way, we analyzed a wide pool that over two years competed in a Concacaf Nations League third-place game and a Gold Cup final in the lead-up. <\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p>This roster, which features its strongest Philly accent in over 90 years, is complete with some of the most talented players America has to offer \u2014 and a few who noticeably were left off the list. But  this is Pochettino\u2019s team. <\/p><div><\/div><p>The Inquirer\u2019s soccer crew will offer up  game-by-game prediction for each match, starting with Paraguay \u2026<\/p><div><\/div><div><div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2iDY5i6jDco?feature=oembed\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0;\" title=\"Soccer Extra: The Wait is Over\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><div><\/div><div><h3>Jonathan Tannenwald<\/h3><\/div><div><\/div><p>The hope and expectation around this team are mostly justified. Because of that, I\u2019m going to be a contrarian for a moment. Dating back to the first World Cup in 1930, the U.S. men have played 37 games on soccer\u2019s biggest stage. They\u2019ve won just nine, lost 20, and tied eight; and they haven\u2019t won more than one group game in a tournament since that inaugural edition. <\/p><div><\/div><p>This team doesn\u2019t face the pressure of world powers like Argentina and England, but it still faces plenty as a co-host desperate to give the sport a lasting legacy here. Paraguay, meanwhile, loves playing defense \u2014 and will likely play even more without injured star forward Julio Enciso.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=847\">Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse<\/a><\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p>It\u2019s good for the U.S. that they beat Paraguay last November in a friendly at Subaru Park. But this game will be a lot harder, and I\u2019m not at all sure the home team will have a big home advantage from the L.A. crowd. I think the U.S. wins it close. <\/p><div><\/div><p><b>Prediction:<\/b> United States 1, Paraguay 0.<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><h3>Kerith Gabriel<\/h3><\/div><div><\/div><p>One of the great things about being so deeply entrenched in this sport is the freeing feeling that wins and losses in tuneup matches offer very little insight into how good a team is. Win over Senegal? Somewhat ecstatic. Loss to Germany? Somewhat expected. <\/p><div><\/div><p>I think it comes down to a few things, but what I mainly look for in this first match against Paraguay is who  Pochettino puts out there. He beat this nation with a group largely comprised of the same guys, and has an even stronger cast in this go-around. I think this is the perfect first match to get acclimated and one the U.S. takes three points in. <\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p><b>Prediction:<\/b> United States 2, Paraguay 0.<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><h3>Matt Breen<\/h3><\/div><div><\/div><p>Who will be the U.S. face of the U.S. World Cup? Easy. Christian Pulisic, Captain America, who gets America\u2019s biggest soccer party started with a signature goal in the opener. Pulisic, whose goal in a friendly last month was his first goal for club or country in five months, brought the energy in the opening minutes of the 2022 opener before finally breaking through \u2014 and perhaps risking his future generations \u2014 for a goal against Iran. <\/p><div><\/div><p>The U.S. should win their group, and the path starts with a win on Friday. The Americans will take care of business against Paraguay and the country\u2019s biggest soccer star will shine bright in L.A.<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p><b>Prediction:<\/b> United States 2, Paraguay 0.<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><h3>Owen Hewitt<\/h3><\/div><div><\/div><p>There\u2019s no way that arguably the most talented team America has ever sent to a World Cup loses its first match on home soil \u2026 right? Doubts about the goalkeeper situation and the health of Chris Richards aside, this match is too big for the U.S. to lose.<\/p><div><\/div><p>Fortunately for the Americans, the U.S. will get the lowest-ranking member of Group D to start their World Cup campaign. They have already beaten Paraguay in a friendly during  Pochettino\u2019s tenure with a less talented squad, and there\u2019s nothing that suggests that the Americans won\u2019t be able to replicate that result on Friday on the big stage in Inglewood.<\/p><div><\/div><p><b>Prediction:<\/b> United States 3, Paraguay 1.<\/p><div><\/div><div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"128\" height=\"128\" alt=\"The Inquirer logo\" class=\"wp-image-47\" src=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/faba80d67140212ba32240655442c529.png\"\/><\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n        The World Cup in Philly\n      <\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here\u2019s what you need to know about those countries \u2014 and what those fans need to know about Philly. <strong>Click here for more<\/strong>.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=845\">Iran war is the worst hit to the global economy since COVID, World Bank says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paraguay is the first of three matches for the United States in Group D. It\u2019s a group many feel the U.S. can emerge from, and recent tune-up games against Senegal and Germany provided some validation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>First up for the U.S. men\u2019s national team? Paraguay. 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