SoFi Opening Ceremony Cues Up USMNT vs Paraguay
6/8/2026
Four days before the United States Men's National Team walks out for its FIFA World Cup 2026 opener, the host country's stage is set in Inglewood. SoFi Stadium will host the U.S. opening ceremony on Friday, June 12 at 4:30 p.m. PT (7:30 p.m. ET), roughly 90 minutes before kickoff against Paraguay. Katy Perry, Future, Lisa, Anitta, and Rema lead the musical roster, with the match itself starting at 9 p.m. ET on FOX and Telemundo. For fans planning the night around a watch party or a seat in the stadium, this is the moment the tournament finally feels real.
Producer Marco Balich, who shaped the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, leads production across all three host-nation ceremonies, with crews of 260 to 300 people in each city. The U.S. show will run welcoming remarks, a flag procession, a match ball presentation, and roughly 30 minutes of music. Balich described the American visual identity as "a super shiny, glowing cup," contrasting Mexico’s papel picado motif and Canada’s mosaic of multiculturalism. The format intentionally avoids a Super Bowl halftime template, leaving the ceremony as its own pregame event rather than a high-octane interruption.
For the road to 2026, this matters because host readiness is judged on the quiet details: transit on match day, security perimeters that do not strangle neighborhoods, broadcast compounds that do not overwhelm the venue’s surroundings. A 30-minute musical opener at SoFi sets the operational baseline the venue will repeat across the group stage and beyond. Get the entry choreography right on June 12, and the tournament has a template to lean on for every host city that follows. The eyes of the eleven United States host cities preparing for kickoff will be on Inglewood’s pace and polish.
The U.S. ceremony is one of three for the 2026 tournament, one per host nation. Mexico opens the World Cup on Thursday, June 11 at Estadio Azteca, with a ceremony at 12:30 p.m. ET featuring Shakira, Burna Boy, and J Balvin. Canada follows on Friday, June 12 at 1:30 p.m. ET at BMO Field in Toronto, headlined by Alanis Morissette and Michael Bublé. The MetLife Stadium final on July 19 closes the run with Madonna, Shakira, and BTS at halftime. Three ceremonies, three voices, one tournament.
On the field, U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino has his squad set. U.S. Soccer announced the 26-player roster on May 26, with Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, and Weston McKennie headlining a group that averages 26 years and 332 days, the fifth youngest squad the United States has fielded for a World Cup. "We are confident this is the best group of 26 players to help us achieve success at the World Cup," Pochettino said in U.S. Soccer’s release, adding that "these were very difficult decisions." Thirteen players return from the 2022 squad, tying the U.S. mark for most returnees between consecutive World Cups.
The opening match leads a tight Group D schedule. After Paraguay at SoFi, the USMNT moves to Seattle on Friday, June 19 for Australia at 3 p.m. ET, then back to Inglewood on Thursday, June 25 to close the group against Türkiye at 10 p.m. ET. The full USMNT Group D schedule is set, with all three group games on FOX and Telemundo. The team trains and stays at Orange County Great Park in Irvine throughout the campaign.
For viewers planning the day, the opening ceremony at SoFi runs into the broadcast window where FOX’s pregame coverage hands off to live action. Streaming subscribers should confirm their package covers both the ceremony feed and the match window, since not every plan bundles pregame production with live match rights. Ticket holders should plan gate-entry timing against the ceremony schedule to avoid missing the flag procession or match ball presentation. A complete broadcast and streaming guide covers carrier-by-carrier availability for the opening week.
What June 12 ultimately delivers is a tone. The Mexico opener at Azteca is a heritage statement. The Canada ceremony in Toronto is a host-city debut. The U.S. ceremony at SoFi is a soccer-growth marker for the host country. The football starts at 9 p.m. ET. The ceremony, the gate flow, the entry music, and the flag procession all serve that opening kick.
Sources
- NBC Los Angeles, World Cup 2026 opening ceremonies guide
- U.S. Soccer, Pochettino names 26-player World Cup roster
- ESPN, USA at the 2026 World Cup: schedule and analysis
- Wikipedia, 2026 FIFA World Cup overview