The U.S. men’s national team kick off its highly anticipated FIFA World Cup campaign on home soil by taking on South American representatives Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on Friday.
In a group that also features Türkiye and Australia, Mauricio Pochettino’s team will want to start its World Cup on the right foot. Although these two teams did face each other just last November in a friendly outside Philadelphia — which the USMNT won 2-1 — the competitive environment of this quadrennial tournament will paint a far different picture.
ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle and Tim Vickery take a look at how both teams will match up in Inglewood, Ca. and who will have the advantage.
Paraguay bring grit, determination to first World Cup since 2010
USMNT fans would be unwise to attach too much importance to their team’s friendly win over Paraguay. The opening opponents of the co-hosts’ World Cup campaign are seldom at their best in friendlies.
Paraguay are not a South American side based on flicks, tricks and irresistible talent. With a national self-image founded on a heroic defense, they are a side of grit and resilience, happy to grind away in adversity, to run hard, to cover for each other, and to pull together so that the collective adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
They need the intensity of competitive action to perform to maximum capacity. In that run of three consecutive tournaments that Spain won around a decade and a half ago — two European Championships and a World Cup — there was probably no tougher knockout game than the 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Paraguay in 2010. The Paraguayans missed out on the next three World Cups and are delighted to return to this year’s competition.
There was a full-blown party atmosphere in Asuncion last Friday for their farewell game, a 4-0 win over Nicaragua. But it came at a cost. Former Premier League forward Julio Enciso picked up a thigh muscle injury that almost certainly will keep him out of the match against the co-hosts.
This is a serious blow. Enciso is the team’s outstanding talent, a highly gifted support striker able to conjure up moments of quality. Now, with typical resilience in the face of adversity, Paraguay will have to plan to meet the Americans without him.
Against Nicaragua, there were glimpses of how this might work. Off in floods of tears went Enciso; on came Palmeiras’ Mauricio, a player who has only recently become Paraguayan. The Brazilian-born attacker represented his country of birth at the under-23 level, but because he has a Paraguayan grandmother, he changed his footballing nationality this year.
He has slipped nicely into the team, and never better than in the Nicaragua game. Deeper-lying than Enciso, Mauricio adds new possibilities both as part of the defensive block and, crucially, in organizing the play in possession, which can also free Brighton & Hove Albion’s Diego Gómez to roam forward and threaten.
But the essence of Paraguay is unchanged: solid defense, quick on the break, with Atlanta United’s Miguel Almirón leading a cast of swift wingers, and dangerous from set pieces. And in his own low-profile way, the star of the show is probably the coach, Gustavo Alfaro.
An Argentine who is usually to be found on the touchline in a navy suit — a symbol of his somber, businesslike approach — Alfaro is a national hero. He took over after the 2024 Copa América with the team in the doldrums and instantly changed the mood.
With a deep, instinctive understanding of the Paraguayans and their down-to-earth brand of heroism, Alfaro struck a chord. He filled the players with confidence, supplying the side with structure and carrying the team to a World Cup where some back home really believe that one small step at a time, they can make some serious progress. — Vickery
The U.S. must be disciplined, tactically and emotionally
The USMNT comes into its World Cup opener against Paraguay full of confidence, having defeated Senegal 3-2 and losing to Germany 2-1 in a match in which the national team gave as good as it got.
What was especially encouraging in these matches was the play of the U.S. attack, with Christian Pulisic looking like he has successfully put his disappointing finish to the club season behind him, as he failed to score for AC Milan after the turn of the calendar year. Pulisic looked both energetic and effective, finding pockets of space where he could be very impactful.
However, questions remain about the U.S. defense. Over the course of the two most recent friendlies, there were breakdowns in transition as well as on set pieces. It is the former aspect that raises the biggest concern, especially with Chris Richards’ availability still unclear due to the ankle injury he sustained with Crystal Palace toward the end of the club season.
Just as cloudy is trying to predict who will replace him if he can’t play. Will it be Mark McKenzie or the error-prone Miles Robinson? That decision by U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino just might be his most important. Transition opportunities are what Paraguay thrive on, and that was precisely how La Albirroja got their goal in the friendly between the two teams, with Almirón setting up Alex Arce.
With a home crowd likely urging the Stars and Stripes to get forward, the USMNT will need to make sure that it plays with the requisite positional discipline to keep transition opportunities to a minimum and not get carried away by recklessly bombing forward.
In addition to the back line, the play of midfielder Tyler Adams will be critical here, as will whoever plays beside him, be it a player who can build the attack like Malik Tillman, or a more stay-at-home type like Sebastian Berhalter or Cristian Roldan.
The self-control with which the USMNT will need to play applies to its emotions as well as its tactics. The U.S. is aware that Paraguay will be more than happy for the match to devolve into a street fight, as evidenced by the brawl that took place late in that November friendly.
That means it will likely take something special for the U.S. to break through. Sergiño Dest looked lively on the wing against Senegal, less so against Germany. Folarin Balogun, the likely starting striker, will need to make the most of his opportunities. Antonee Robinson’s wonder strike against Germany reminded fans that the defender can conjure up something special.
The matchup doesn’t quite rise to the level of must-win for the USMNT. Four years ago, the U.S. walked off the field with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Wales and still managed to get through to the knockout rounds.
The expanded tournament this time around makes the path out of the group easier, but anything less than a win will be a disappointment, as the games will only get tougher from there. A victory for the U.S will get the country behind it. — Carlisle
