US fans gather in Los Angeles ahead of Paraguay match

The line to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was a snapshot of how far World Cup fever had traveled in the United States. Fans arrived for the FIFA Fan Festival, where a $10 general admission ticket and free entry for children 12 and under turned the stadium grounds into a low-cost gathering place before the USA met Paraguay at 6 p.m.

The festival ran from June 11 to June 14, with Friday hours set for 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The official program included live match broadcasts, music, food, family-friendly amenities, accessibility services and guest support support services, giving supporters a place to spend the day around the game rather than just show up for kickoff.

Los Angeles has made the tournament feel citywide. Officials said the city will host eight World Cup matches in total, and there are 10 official fan zones in addition to the main fan festival at the Coliseum. That spread of events has made the buildup visible far beyond the stadium itself, with the city leaning on public gathering spaces to carry the atmosphere into neighborhoods and entertainment districts.

The match against Paraguay carried its own history. The United States and Paraguay last met on November 16, 2025, in Chester, Pennsylvania, where the Americans won 2-1 behind goals from Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun. U.S. Soccer says the all-time series stands at 5 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws for the United States, while FIFA traces the rivalry back to the inaugural World Cup in 1930.

The fan festival also underscored what supporters hope this tournament can become in the U.S. Los Angeles World Cup ambassador Cobi Jones called it “the heartbeat of the World Cup,” a phrase that captured the scale of the city’s celebration and the expectation that a home tournament can break through as more than a television event. For U.S. fans, the draw of the Coliseum was not only Paraguay, but the larger possibility of a signature men’s World Cup moment on American soil.

The USMNT’s Group D schedule adds to that anticipation. After Paraguay, the United States will play Australia on June 19 in Seattle and then Turkey on June 25 back in Los Angeles, keeping the national team at the center of a summer that has already turned the city into one of the tournament’s loudest public stages.