SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles hosts the United States against Paraguay in Group D’s opener, a match that launches the home nation’s campaign in the world’s second largest football market. For the USMNT, this is the moment a generation has been building toward.

The United States and Paraguay have met at a World Cup once before. At the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, the inaugural tournament, they faced each other in the group stage. Paraguay won 1-0. It is a historical footnote that takes on a certain irony given how far American football has developed since then.

The United States’ most celebrated World Cup performance was their run to the semi-finals of the 1930 tournament, which earned them third place. In the modern era, the 1994 World Cup they hosted was a breakthrough moment for American football, reaching the Round of 16. Their 2002 quarter-final remains their best recent result. After missing the 2018 tournament entirely through a qualifying failure that shocked the domestic game, they returned in 2022 with a young squad that reached the Round of 16.

Paraguay’s World Cup history includes a quarter-final appearance in 2010, where they were eliminated by Spain. Traditionally a physical, organized team, the Guarani have been consistent CONMEBOL qualifiers across multiple generations.

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood holds 70,240 fans and sits in the heart of Los Angeles, the city with the largest Latino population in the United States. The crowd will be diverse and passionate. For the US team, opening at home in Los Angeles generates the kind of electricity that the program’s young stars have been anticipating throughout their careers.

A home win in Match 1 sets the tone for everything. The United States will carry the expectation of an entire nation with them onto the SoFi pitch.