USMNT Faces Paraguay Tonight at SoFi Stadium, While Infantino Tells Priced-Out Fans to Chill

Since Mexico's 2-0 win over South Africa opened the tournament at Azteca on June 10, the World Cup has steadily moved north. Tonight the spotlight lands on SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where the United States hosts Paraguay in the Americans' first match of their home tournament.

Pochettino Skips the Speech

Coach Mauricio Pochettino was asked Thursday whether he planned a locker-room moment like the one portrayed in the hockey film Miracle before the match. His answer was straightforward: no.

"I already spoke, I already talked," Pochettino told assembled media Thursday, according to the New York Post. "Too much. I said [to players] don't expect an unbelievable speech Friday."

His reasoning is practical. He spent the past year and a half trying to get players to treat every call-up with World Cup urgency. Now it actually is the World Cup. The motivational work, he believes, is done.

How the U.S. Plans to Attack

The Post's breakdown of the matchup highlights Christian Pulisic as the creative engine. Pulisic had a difficult second half of the club season at AC Milan, but reportedly played well in the USMNT's final two pre-tournament friendlies. Sergiño Dest is expected to be a major factor on the right wing. He caused problems in the same direction when the U.S. beat Paraguay in a November friendly, though neither squad was at full strength that day.

Pochettino's preferred approach is possession-based. Against Germany in a recent tune-up, he deployed Malik Tillman in a midfield pivot alongside Tyler Adams, an offensive-minded choice signaling he expected his side to control the ball. A similar lineup tonight would suggest he sees this as a game the U.S. can dominate territorially.

Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi are the options up front. The U.S. has shown vulnerability against pressing teams, and Paraguay under coach Gustavo Alfaro can be aggressive in their own defensive third. But once the ball moves forward, Paraguay is expected to drop into a low block and defend physically.

Chris Richards, returning from injury, should help stabilize the American backline in those transition moments.

What Paraguay Brings

Paraguay's defense, anchored by Omar Alderete, will not be easy to break down. Alfaro's teams are built on high-intensity defending and absorbing pressure. The unanswered question heading into tonight, per the Post, is whether key Paraguay attacking options will be fully available. The source article was truncated before naming the specific player concern, so that remains publicly unclear as of this morning.

Infantino Tells Fans to "Chill" on Ticket Prices

Off the field, FIFA president Gianni Infantino generated significant backlash on Wednesday with his response to fans priced out of the tournament. His advice, reported by the New York Post: fans "should chill."

Infantino pointed to NBA Finals ticket prices at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs series currently underway, as evidence that expensive tickets are simply part of major American sporting events. The comparison drew immediate skepticism from supporters who note that the World Cup is not an annual event. For most fans, it is a once-in-a-generation experience, not a seasonal game.

The Post documented the real cost spread across actual attendees. Belgian superfan Adam El Manawy, 35, shipped his 1982 BMW across the Atlantic and is driving a Baltimore-to-Vancouver route following Belgium's matches. The Post projects his total costs at $12,000 to $15,000 if Belgium reaches the semifinals. A Manhattan banking executive's family is spending nearly $22,000 on tickets alone this year. That same family spent more than $35,000 on an all-inclusive Qatar package in 2022. Dallas resident Luis Chavez and his wife are spending more than $12,000.

The Strongest Case for Infantino's Position

Ticket pricing in American sports is market-driven, and resale markets for the NBA Finals or Super Bowl routinely exceed World Cup face values. From a pure economics standpoint, demand sets the price. FIFA did create lower-cost ticket tiers specifically for residents of host cities, and some fans do access the tournament affordably through that channel. The issue is that those allocations were limited and sold out quickly, leaving the secondary market as the primary option for most latecomers.

Infantino was not talking to wealthy executives. He was addressing the broader fanbase, including supporters from countries where $500 for a group-stage ticket represents weeks of wages. The NBA Finals comparison only works if you accept that a once-every-four-years sporting pilgrimage is equivalent to a regular playoff game in a city where the arena is located. Most serious soccer fans do not accept that framing.

What Comes Next

For tonight's match, kickoff at SoFi Stadium is scheduled for Friday. A USMNT win would provide a significant boost heading into what is expected to be a difficult group stage. A loss or draw would immediately intensify scrutiny on Pochettino's lineup choices, particularly his decision to play an offensively configured midfield against a team designed to frustrate on the counter.

On the ticket pricing front, no FIFA policy change is on the table. The unresolved question is whether the backlash, visible enough that Infantino felt compelled to address it publicly on Wednesday, eventually forces any adjustment in how FIFA structures allocations for future tournaments, or whether market pricing simply becomes the permanent expectation at this scale.