INGLEWOOD – The United States will open its 2026 World Cup soccer campaign at SoFi Stadium, where the team will face Paraguay after drawing a group that also includes Australia and the winner of a playoff featuring Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo.
The matchups were set Friday as soccer’s biggest tournament moved a step closer following a star-studded draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump took center stage at the big event, joining world leaders as well as retired sports greats Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal and Wayne Gretzky, along with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Trump was also awarded the newly created FIFA Peace Prize during the ceremony, which was also attended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, among others.
Matches for the expanded 2026 World Cup will be staged across 16 host cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada, including Inglewood — where SoFi Stadium will host several group-stage games.
Inglewood business owner Esaul Martin, whose family is behind the popular Fiesta Martin eateries, are planning to open a new location steps from SoFi Stadium ahead of the games.
“I think Inglewood had a perception of being, you know, high crime, poverty… and people were scared to come,” said Martin, co-owner of Martin’s Cocina y Cantina. “Now people are starting to come and feel like, ‘OK, this is the place that I want to come to.’”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass welcomed the draw results, saying the city is ready to serve as a global stage for the event.
“With the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw finalized, Los Angeles is thrilled to welcome our international visitors. … Los Angeles is proud to open its doors to the world and celebrate the unifying power of sport,” Bass said in a statement.
All games from the quarterfinals on will be in the U.S., which is using 11 NFL stadiums.
The U.S. will open Group D play against Paraguay on June 12, 2026 at SoFi Stadium. The United States’ other group games will be played in Seattle against Australia on June 19 and back at SoFi Stadium on June 25 against the UEFA playoff winner.
The U.S. has had recent success against both Paraguay and Australia, beating each 2-1 in friendlies earlier this year.
Mexico will kick off the tournament a day earlier in Mexico City against South Africa — a rematch of the opening game from the 2010 World Cup.
As a co-host, the U.S. was seeded in Pot 1, allowing the team to avoid top powers such as Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, as well as fellow hosts Canada and Mexico.
A record 64 nations took part in the draw, which will ultimately set the 48-team field for next summer’s tournament. Under the expanded format, the top two teams in each group — along with eight of the 12 third-place finishers — will advance to the 32-team knockout stage.
An estimated $594 million in economic activity is expected to flow into L.A. County during the tournament, according to a report from Micronomics Economic Research and Consulting released in June.
City News Service contributed to this report.
