{"id":2453,"date":"2026-06-11T10:35:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2453"},"modified":"2026-06-11T10:35:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:35:01","slug":"ahead-of-the-2026-world-cup-opener-vs-paraguay-good-points-made-to-the-us-team-about-a-winning-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2453","title":{"rendered":"Ahead of the 2026 World Cup opener vs. Paraguay, good point(s) made to the US team about a winning start"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Friday\u2019s World Cup opener against Paraguay isn\u2019t a must-win match for the US men\u2019s soccer team. It just can\u2019t loseif it wants to stay in the tournament. Its own history tells it that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018A second empire\u2019: Bringing the World Cup back to Boston, Robert Kraft is betting big on soccer<\/a><\/p>\n

Since the Americans returned to the global stage three dozen years ago, whenever they\u2019ve lost their initial Cup outing \u2014 as they did in 1990, \u203298, and 2006 \u2014 they\u2019ve gone three-and-out.<\/span><\/p>\n

When they\u2019ve won their first match as they did in 2002 and \u203214, they\u2019ve moved on. Not without anxiety, of course. But grabbing 3 points off the jump provides a huge boost, especially if you\u2019re the hosts.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It amps up the excitement across the country, gets the chatter going among the citizenry and has TV sets switched on in living rooms and taverns that usually are tuned to baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n

This opener, in Inglewood, Calif., will be shown in primetime (9 p.m. Eastern, Fox). The finale against Turkey two weeks from now also will be a night event.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ideally, the Americans won\u2019t have to produce a victory in that one, or hope for outside help in order to be one of the three teams that makes it to the Round of 32. But that would be a welcome novelty.<\/span><\/p>\n

A draw in the opener isn\u2019t necessarily a drawback if it\u2019s followed by a victory. That\u2019s what the United States did when it last hosted in 1994, tying Switzerland and shocking Colombia. This time, the road onward is less demanding.<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on rankings, the Yanks are the best bunch in their group. But based on results against the other three, they\u2019re not the best by much and aren\u2019t demonstrably better than the Turks, who beat them in a Connecticut friendly last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>The state of the US men\u2019s national team entering the World Cup: Americans should advance, but how far?<\/div>\n

Paraguay will be a tough nut to crack. La Albirroja might have finished sixth in the 10-team South America qualifying round-robin, but they had the same number of points as three other rivals, including Brazil.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Paraguayans don\u2019t score much \u2014 they managed only 14 goals in the 18 matches. But they allowed even fewer \u2014 10 in all, two of them on penalties. They beat Argentina, the defending Cup champion, blanked Brazil, and played to five scoreless deadlocks.<\/span><\/p>\n

La Albirroja can make a banquet out of a single goal, which usually comes from a quick counter in transition. <\/span><\/p>\n

Its playing style is built around rigorous defending and vigorous tackling, and a stubborn and defiant approach known as \u201cLa Garra Guarani\u201d \u2014 the clawing underdog mentality which inspires and unites the populace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more The Rafael Devers trade, one year later: Red Sox still missing a big bat like that<\/a><\/p>\n

This will be the Paraguayans\u2019 first Cup match since 2010, when they made it to the quarterfinals before going out to eventual champion Spain.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019ll also be the first time they\u2019ve faced the yanquis in Cup play since the inaugural tournament in 1930 when Bert Patenaude, the Fall River magician, turned the hat trick in a 3-0 triumph.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This encounter likely will be emotional and physical in the wake of last November\u2019s 2-1 US victory in a Pennsylvania not-so-friendly marked by a rough tangle between Paraguay captain Gustavo Gomez and Alex Freeman on the sideline near the end of the match that cleared both benches.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the aggression is coming from the other side, we need to defend ourselves,\u201d US coach Mauricio Pochettino said. \u201cAnd that was a good moment to say we feel proud about who we are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The way that match played out is the way Pochettino wants his players to operate. The Americans took the lead in the fourth minute on a header by Gio Reyna. And after Paraguay equalized in the 10th, the United States went on to close things out on Folarin Balogun\u2019s strike in the 71st.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pochettino wants his men continually on the move, urging them upfield to apply pressure, create chances, and finish them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Ranking World Cup favorites: Why these eight teams can win it all (and why they won\u2019t)<\/div>\n

To advance in the Cup, the Americans need to score and they need to score first, preferably early. When they upset the Portuguese in 2002, John O\u2019Brien tallied in the fourth minute. When they beat Ghana in 2014, Clint Dempsey broke through in the first.<\/span><\/p>\n

That won\u2019t be easy against La Albirroja, traditionally difficult to break down at any time in the match. After 16 years of watching el Mundial on a screen, the Paraguayans will be perfectly content to emerge from their reentry with 90 scoreless minutes and a precious point.<\/span><\/p>\n

Goals were painfully hard to come by for the United States in Qatar four years ago. The Yanks produced only two in group play, and yet still went through following a brace of draws (1-1 with Wales and 0-0 with England) and a victory (1-0 over Iran).<\/span><\/p>\n

What the Americans have learned multiple times over the decades is that they don\u2019t want their fate hanging on the bounce of the ball or a referee\u2019s call in the third match.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you draw the opener, you open yourself up to happenstance. Three points is three times better than 1. Everyone on the planet understands that arithmetic. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more With the World Cup here, one final question remains: Has \u2018Ted Lasso\u2019 made soccer more popular in the United States?<\/a><\/p>\n

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Why the French national team chose Bentley University as their practice facilities for the World Cup<\/div>\n
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Michael Silverman breaks down how the grass quality, maintenance, and security influenced the French national team’s decision to train at Bentley University.<\/span> (undefined)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Based on rankings, the Yanks are the best bunch in their group. But based on results against the other three, they\u2019re not the best by much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nAhead of the 2026 World Cup opener vs. Paraguay, good point(s) made to the US team about a winning start - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2453\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ahead of the 2026 World Cup opener vs. Paraguay, good point(s) made to the US team about a winning start - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Based on rankings, the Yanks are the best bunch in their group. 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