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On Friday night in Southern California, the world's largest sporting event returns to the U.S. for the first time in more than three decades when the 

 kicks off its first group-stage match against Paraguay.

This 2026 World Cup has been circled on the calendar of U.S. Soccer for nearly a decade — the long-awaited chance to finally rewrite a 

The heavyweight talent and strong soccer tradition of European and South American teams have long proven elusive for the U.S. to match, despite decades of investment in the sport. The furthest the U.S. team has finished in a modern World Cup was a 

 in 2002; since then, the U.S. has managed just three total wins across all the World Cups.

Yet the chance to host the tournament at home has coincided with the development of perhaps the most talented generation of players that American soccer has ever produced.

For the first time in the national team's history, its major players all have key roles on teams in Europe's top-flight professional leagues. Midfielder Tyler Adams and defenders Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson are regular contributors to their English Premier League teams, while Weston McKennie is a favorite at Italian club Juventus, and Christian Pulisic, the one-time boy wonder of Team USA, is now, at 27, a bona fide star for AC Milan.

"This is for me the biggest opportunity to grow the game, to inspire people, to show that American players are at the level of the rest of the world," Adams said Thursday.

The team's first challenge is Friday's game against Paraguay, 

 in FIFA's international rankings. The two teams faced off in an international friendly last November, which the U.S. won 2-1 after a scuffle between players broke out during stoppage time.

"We know that they're gonna be super, super aggressive, so we're going to have to match that. We saw that the last time we played them," said U.S. forward Tim Weah.

Paraguay may have to play without its biggest talent, the 22-year-old midfielder Julio Enciso, who was stretchered off the field in the first half of his team's final warm-up match last week.

After Friday's match, the U.S. will play Australia next week, then wrap up the group stage with a June 25 game against Turkey.

 to 48 teams means it will be easier than ever to emerge from the group stage. A win in Friday's game, plus either a second win against Australia or Turkey or a draw against both teams, would likely be enough for the U.S. to advance to the knockout round — though the U.S. could earn a more advantageous path if it finishes the group stage in first place.

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World Cup 2026

Becky Sullivan

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Friday's game, the first of three group stage matches for the U.S., has been eight years in the making as a generation of players has reached their prime just in time for a World Cup on home soil.

The U.S. men's team is set to take on Paraguay in its World Cup opener

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