It’s one thing to play in a World Cup match. It’s an entirely different deal to play a World Cup match as the team representing a host country.
On Friday at 9 p.m. ET, for the first time since 1994, the United States men’s national soccer team will host a World Cup match. Paraguay will be its opponent.
Paraguay vs. USMNT
- Start/time/location: 9 p.m. ET, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California
- TV/streaming: FOX/FOX One/Tubi
- Odds: USA -115/Tie +250/Paraguay +330
The USMNT were already favored in this opening match against Paraguay, even before the injury to Paraguay’s star attacker Julio Enciso. Enciso was stretchered off the field in the 25th minute of Paraguay’s 4-0 friendly victory over Nicaragua last Friday. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder suffered a “leg injury” and his status for Friday’s showdown with the USMNT is not yet known. Enciso scored 12 goals this eason for Strasbourg in France’s Ligue 1.
Gustavo Alfaro is Paraguay’s manager and has restored the country’s traditional style of play with a pragmatic, defensive, and physical approach. It has worked well for Paraguay, as it gave up just 10 goals over 18 qualifying games.
The US men are ranked 17th in FIFA’s world rankings and are +5000 to win it all. Eleven teams appear higher than them on the Fanatics World Cup futures odds board. Paraguay, meanwhile, is a whopping +15000 to win the World Cup.
Mauricio Pochettino leads the US men into action. The Argentinian manager employed a 3-4-2-1 base in the USMNT’s impressive 3-2 friendly win over Senegal on May 31 and it is expected that he’ll trot out a similar scheme on Friday against Paraguay.
Leading the USMNT offensively is Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Malik Tillman, and Weston McKennie. Pulisic is +210 at Fanatics to score an anytime goal against Paraguay, while Balogun is +210, Tillman is +425, and McKennie is +500. Antonio Sanabria appears first for Paraguay in this market as he has +375 odds to score a goal.
It is not yet known which “Matt” that Pochettino will tab to start in goal on Friday, as Matt Freese and Matt Turner have both started recently. Freese is more likely, having started 15 of 18 matches for the US.
The US and Paraguay met in a friendly last November with the Americans winning, 2-1. Freese was the netminder that day for Pochettino’s squad.
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