After Mexico on the opening day of this World Cup, it was now the turn of the two other organizing countries to play their opening match in front of their own audience. Canada did this by drawing 1-1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, the first point the Canadians ever won at a World Cup. The United States did this by destroying Paraguay with contagious energy and creativity. In Los Angeles, under the watchful eye of more than 70,000 spectators, including many celebrities, the Americans won 4-1.
A World Cup organized by three countries also means three opening ceremonies. In the afternoon (9 p.m. here) there was a party in Toronto with performances by Canadian artists Alessia Cara, Nora Fatehi and Michael Bublé, among others. Alanis Morissette sang the Canadian national anthem just before kickoff. After that, things went wrong quite quickly for the Canadians. Bosnia, which had qualified for the World Cup by eliminating four-time world champion Italy in the play-offs, scored early: Jovo Lukić headed home from a corner kick.
The better – and diligent – Canada got their work done about ten minutes before time: former Feyenoord player Cyle Larin passed the Bosnian goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj after a clever turning movement. The point thus earned was nevertheless a turning point: in the previous two final rounds in which Canada participated (1986 and 2022), all matches were lost.
In Los Angeles, the United States opened its first World Cup on home soil since 1994 later in the day (at 3 a.m. in the Netherlands) with a vibrant opening ceremony. There were performances by the rapper Future, the South African Tyla, the Brazilian Anitta and LISA from the K-pop group Blackpink. The bouncer came from Katy Perry, who took the stage just before the players entered the field.
Mini flag parade
The energy of the ceremony was far exceeded by the team of national coach Mauricio Pochettino. The Americans were better than Paraguay in all areas and led 3-0 at halftime after an own goal by Damián Bobadilla and two goals by Folarin Balogun. Mauricio scored for Paraguay in the 73rd minute. Giovanni Reyna signed for the final score in injury time: 4-1.
Almere-born Sergiño Dest, who once broke through at Ajax, had a starting place, as did former PSV player Malik Tillman. Both players were among the standouts. PSV striker Ricardo Pepi came on in the 72nd minute. The match was led by referee Danny Makkelie, who handed out six yellow cards.
All this was watched by a mixed bag of stars – from Hollywood figures (Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry) and influencers (Paris Hilton, the Beckhams) to former athletes (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and billionaires (Bill Gates). They managed to find the cameras at every interruption. Ted Lasso actor Jason Sudeikis entered the field before the match to lead a mini flag parade.
Joke
What else happened? Brazil announced that star player Neymar is missing from the first group match against Morocco. Brazil’s all-time top scorer – 79 goals in 128 international matches – may also miss the group matches against Haiti and Scotland. The 34-year-old attacker has not yet recovered from a calf injury.
And FIFA boss Gianni Infantino made a joke that did not go down well in Italy. During an interview with a Brazilian TV station, he suggested that FIFA should expand the World Cup field. “Maybe Italy will qualify for a World Cup with 64 teams, or maybe we will go to 228 teams,” he said. The World Football Association has 211 members. Four-time world champion Italy is missing from a World Cup for the third time in a row.
The Italian Minister of Sports, Andrea Abodi, wants to talk to Infantino. “Given the large distance between Italy and Mexico, a telephone conversation, depending on his agenda, would be the most appropriate to clarify this,” Abodi told Italian news agency ANSA.
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2026 FIFA World Cup
The United States leaves little to Paraguay in the first match on American soil