Tom Cruise and David Beckham spotlight U.S. World Cup debut in Los Angeles

Tom Cruise and David Beckham turned the United States’ World Cup opener into something closer to a Hollywood premiere than a routine group-stage match. The pair were seen together in the stands at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where they also signed autographs as the U.S. faced Paraguay and the first American game of the 2026 tournament unfolded under bright Los Angeles lights.

The setting underscored how fully soccer has entered the center of the U.S. entertainment machine. Before kickoff, the opening ceremony featured performances by Katy Perry, Future and Tyla, with dancers circling a giant World Cup trophy in a production built for spectacle as much as sport. Inside the stadium, Victoria Beckham joined the crowd, along with Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton and Jason Sudeikis, giving the night the feel of a crossover event that reached far beyond traditional soccer circles.

For Beckham, the evening carried a personal milestone as well as a public one. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the same day Los Angeles hosted the World Cup opener, placing one of soccer’s most recognizable figures at the center of a city built on celebrity. Beckham’s presence linked the game to the broader American sports and entertainment landscape, where his profile has long extended beyond the pitch.

That resonance reflected the scale of the occasion for U.S. soccer itself. The match against Paraguay marked the national team’s debut in the 2026 World Cup, and the turnout around it suggested a sport that no longer needs to rely only on its core audience to command attention in the United States. Beckham, who became the first English footballer to win league titles in four countries, arrived as both a soccer icon and a fixture of global celebrity culture. In Los Angeles, that dual identity was exactly the point.