World Cup 2026: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood hosts first match on US soil in 32 years

The US Men's National Team says its ready to take on Paraguay in the World Cup and expects to get much further in the tournament this time around.

In the World Cup four our years ago, in Qatar, the United States National Team finished #2 in their group and advanced to the Round of 16. This year's squad, a "Golden Generation" of players, is expected to get to the knockout round once again, with those expectations much higher.

With the tournament in their backyard, the U.S. Men's National Team is expected to have a long stay at the World Cup and looking to set a new benchmark for U.S. soccer.

Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino says his team is ready and it's probably too late for motivational speeches.

"Everyone knows how to be ready. I say now, there's no need for external motivation or inspirational speech. Tomorrow it's late," Pochettino said Thursday at a press conference.

Part of the reason the expectations are so high is because half of the players on this team also played in the 2022 World Cup team. The face of the "Golden Generation" Christian Pulisic says it's that familiarity that has this team ready to take on the world.

"It's like a family, obviously. So many of us have known each other for such a long time and played together for a long time -- you know, a lot of guys at the last World Cup," Pulisic said. "We've just been growing together. Yeah, it's a really good group that we have. We're a really good team. We're able to compete with anyone and we want to be a real force in this tournament. I think that's what we want to show to everyone. I think we know, from the inside, what we're capable of... now it's about showing it."

World Cup co-hosts Mexico and Canada already completed their first match. Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in the World Cup opener on Thursday. Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina played to a 1-1 draw earlier Friday, in Toronto.

The U.S. will take the pitch against Paraguay at 6 p.m. Friday.

Whether you're going to a match, a watch party or pretty much anywhere around Los Angeles, brace yourself -- officials are warning of World Cup traffic.

As SoCal welcomes the FIFA World Cup 2026, fans from around the world are in town for all the festivities. L.A. Metro says its prepared for this and wants to make it easy for everyone to get around and also affordable.

"We want to give people a really easy option to get to the fan zones, to get to the games to go support the U.S.," said L.A. Metro spokesperson Patrick Chandler.

L.A. Metro is the official transit provider for the Los Angeles World Cup. Metro said enhanced World Cup bus service to SoFi Stadium will operate from 15 locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties:

• El Camino College in Torrance

• Crenshaw Metro Station

• Culver City Transit Center

• downtown Long Beach

• downtown Santa Monica

• Harbor Gateway Transit Center

• Hawthorne/Lennox Metro Station

• North Hollywood Metro Station

• Pierce College Station in Woodland Hills

• Torrance Transit Center

• Union Station

• LAX/Metro Transit Center

• Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center

• Newport Transportation Center

• several pickup locations near LAX

Fare for the service will be $1.75 each way. Buses will begin operating up to three hours before kickoff and continue running for up to two hours after each match ends, according to Metro.

2,000 transit agency employees will also be deployed throughout Los Angeles County during the tournament to assist riders.

"We're trying to make sure that we have people out there that speak all the languages that are out there because it's L.A., we speak all languages of the world... so we have staff out there to help people," Chandler said.

Regional transit partners also are expanding service for the tournament. Metrolink plans enhanced rail service following all eight World Cup matches in the Los Angeles area and during official FIFA Fan Zone events at Union Station later in the tournament.

Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner will add late-night service on select match days, allowing fans to return to destinations including San Diego, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo after matches.

Intercity carriers FlixBus and Greyhound also are preparing for increased demand by connecting travelers from cities including San Diego, Bakersfield and Las Vegas to regional transit hubs such as Union Station, downtown Long Beach and Anaheim, officials said.

Metro also announced a partnership with Uber that will provide discounted rides through temporary Metro Micro zones in Hollywood and East Los Angeles on match days. The program will offer a $10 discount on eligible trips connecting riders to World Cup transit services.

The United States is scheduled to face Paraguay on Friday in its World Cup opener at SoFi Stadium.

For more information, go to www.metro.net/riding/world-cup.

Caltrans announced they will temporarily pause construction projects along certain routes from 5 a.m. on game days to 5 a.m. the following day. This includes major interstates like the 101 and 405 freeways.

Whether you're going to a match, a watch party or pretty much anywhere around Los Angeles, brace yourself, officials are warning of World Cup traffic.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Iran's World Cup campaign is set to begin Monday in Inglewood against New Zealand, but visa denials affecting members of the country's soccer federation have become a central issue surrounding the team's arrival in the United States.

According to officials, 15 Iranian soccer federation members were denied U.S. visas ahead of the tournament.

Players and coaching staff were not impacted by the visa denials.

The U.S. State Department cited security concerns, alleging abuse of the visa system to "sneak terrorists in the United States under false pretenses." No further details about those allegations have been released.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had indicated that the Trump administration had "no problem" with providing visas to Iran's team during his testimony on Capitol Hill earlier this month- but he said the administration would not allow the regime to use the event to bring in IRGC-affiliates.

"What we're not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature, so we were going to watch that very closely," he said.

Iran is the only World Cup team whose federation has faced such a large number of denied entries, adding complications to its tournament preparations. As a result of the visa issues, the team made last-minute changes, moving its training base from Arizona to Tijuana.

Despite those challenges, Iran is scheduled to open play Monday at the SoFi Stadium (renamed Los Angeles Stadium by FIFA) against New Zealand. The match, set for 6 p.m., is one of two games Iran will play in the Los Angeles area.

Southern California is home to the largest Iranian population outside Iran. Hundreds of thousands of people of Iranian descent live in the region, making the team's presence a significant cultural moment for many supporters.

However, excitement around the match is tempered by what's become a very complicated situation. Fans are grappling with mixed emotions tied to the ongoing war in Iran, which has added a layer of complexity to what might otherwise be a celebratory occasion.

For the players and coaching staff, the focus remains on competition. Iran enters the match as the favored team against New Zealand.

As for the war, it appears an agreement to end it is near.

Pakistan's prime minister said Friday that mediators are working with both sides in the conflict to finalize an agreement, adding that "peace has never been this close."

ABC News contributed to this report.

Los Angeles will host eight World Cup games at Sofi Stadium, which will be known as Los Angeles Stadium for the duration of the tournament.

Match 4 - June 12 at 6:00 PM, USA vs PAR (Group D)

Match 15 - June 15 at 6:00 PM, IRN vs NZL (Group G)

Match 26 - June 18 at 12:00 PM, SUI vs ITA/NIR/WAL/BIH* (Group B)

Match 39 - June 21 at 12:00 PM, BEL vs IRN (Group G)

Match 59 - June 25 at 7:00 PM, TUR/ROU/SVK/KOS* vs USA (Group D)

Match 73 - June 28 at 12:00 PM, Round of 32

Match 84 - July 2 at 12:00 PM, Round of 32

Match 98 - July 10 at 12:00 PM, Quarter-Finals

The World Cup craze is sweeping across Southern California, and it's about to get even more exciting when Team USA takes the field at SoFi Stadium.