Saturday June 13, 2026
- USA vs Paraguay – Los Angeles 4am [Group D]
Co-hosts United States of America begin their 2026 World Cup campaign against Paraguay in Group D at the Los Angeles hoping to claim victory just like Mexico.
However, their head coach Mauricio Pochettino expects a difficult game against a side he has described as aggressive and competitiveness.
“I know very well the mentality [of Paraguay] — the aggressivity, the [competitiveness],” stated former Spurs head coach Pochettino.
“My expectation is tomorrow is going to be a very tough game. It’s going to be tough because Paraguay not only are competitive and aggressive [but] they have good quality [and] a great coach in Gustavo Alfaro, who is doing a great job and I respect and admire him a lot. It’s going to be very, very difficult,” he added.
Gustavo Alfraro, the Paraguay coach who guided the team to qualification for this tournament as no. six in the CONMEBOL is looking at the game with excitement.
“It has been a countdown from the moment we secured qualification. For us, it’s a moment of great fulfillment, of great joy, because we know how much the country needed this, the struggle the players have gone through all this time to try to achieve this,” the Argentine said.
“We know this isn’t just another game; we know it’s a different game, with characteristics unlike any other we might ever play. Here at the World Cup, it goes by fast, it’s ruthless — it’s the details, it’s the circumstances that you need to try to capitalize on,” stressed Gustavo.
How to watch
All 104 matches will be live on DStv on four dedicated FIFA World Cup Channels in multiple languages. The Channels are FIFA World Cup Central (Channel 222), FIFA World Cup Extra (Channel 223), FIFA World Cup Pass (Channel 225), and FIFA World Cup Swahili (Channel 224).
