Pochettino's Big Calls: How the USMNT Lines Up Against Paraguay

The United States begin their home World Cup on Friday, facing Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood at 6pm Pacific (9pm EDT) — and the biggest question in American soccer this week is not whether the team is ready, but who Mauricio Pochettino trusts to start.

The form guide makes uncomfortable reading. The USMNT have played four matches in 2026 and lost three of them — to Germany, Portugal and Belgium — with last week's 3-2 win over Senegal their only victory of the year, according to NBC Sports. That slump followed an earlier low point: back-to-back defeats to Panama and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League finals, results that even Pochettino publicly acknowledged as a concern.

Some of the team sheet writes itself. Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams are certain starters, the captain-talisman and the midfield destroyer around whom everything else is arranged. The intrigue is one rung down. Malik Tillman's emergence has created a genuine squeeze in midfield, and NBC Sports reports that established names — Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah among them — could find themselves on the bench, with Cristian Roldan, a known Pochettino favourite, also firmly in the conversation.

Paraguay should not be taken lightly. The Albirroja are back at a World Cup for the first time since 2010, when they reached the quarter-finals, and they have built their return on organisation and physicality — exactly the kind of opponent that has troubled this American side in recent months.

The stakes of the opener are amplified by the format: a winning start at home, in front of a sold-out crowd in Inglewood, would reset the narrative of a turbulent year in one night. Anything less, and the noise around Pochettino's selections will only get louder before the second group game.

Sources: NBC Sports — USMNT lineup versus Paraguay: who will Pochettino choose? · ESPN — USMNT vs Paraguay: kick-off time, how to watch, stats, team news