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Co-hosts USA will welcome Paraguay to the Los Angeles Stadium in their opening World Cup match on Saturday morning.
The United States are hosting with Canada and Mexico, and it will be the second time they will host the tournament after doing so in 1994.
This will be Paraguay's eighth World Cup finals appearance, and they will be hoping to emulate their last appearance in 2010, where they reached the quarter-finals for the one and only time in their history.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions, as well as our best football world cup betting offers.
USA vs. Paraguay key stats
- USA are unbeaten in their last three opening World Cup games (W1, D2).
- Paraguay have won just once in their previous eight World Cup openers (D4, L3).
- USA have won three successive H2Hs in all competitions.
USA vs. Paraguay preview: Hosts to win World Cup opener?
| USA | vs | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | FIFA Ranking | 40 |
| Christian Pulisic (86) | Most Caps | Gustavo Gomez (89) |
| Christian Pulisic (33) | Most Goals | Miguel Almiron (10) |
| 962 | Total Caps | 690 |
| 125 | Total Goals | 53 |
| 0 | Uncapped Players | 0 |
USA host the World Cup for the second time after doing so in 1994, but this time they are sharing hosting duties with Canada and Mexico.
This will be the USA's 12th appearance at a World Cup finals, and the best they have ever finished is in third place in its very first edition in 1930.
They would do well to get that far this time around though as they rank only 16th in the world, but boast an experienced coach in Mauricio Pochettino who has an impressive CV at club level.
The hosts will be favourites to beat Paraguay in their opener, although they may have to do so without Chris Richards, Tyler Adams and Antonee Robinson, who are all fitness doubts.
The visitors only have one in the squad themselves, although it is a big one with key player Julio Enciso likely to miss out through injury.
Also led by an Argentine coach in Gustavo Alfaro, this will be Paraguay's ninth World Cup finals appearance, and first since 2010.
The South Americans reached the quarter-finals in South Africa, which remains their best-ever World Cup finish, but it will be difficult to emulate that in the expanded 48-team format.
Paraguay are also only ranked 40th in the world, 24 places below the USA, and so they head to the Los Angeles Stadium as underdogs.
USA vs. Paraguay form guide & betting tips
| USA | vs | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
WLLWL |
Form | LWWLW |
| 11 | Goals For | 9 |
| 12 | Goals Against | 5 |
N/A |
World Cup | N/A |
Whispers predicts: USA 1-0 Paraguay
USA are favourites with bookies, and given they are on home soil and boast an excellent recent H2H record, we are happy to back USA to win at 1/1 (2.00).
Christian Pulisic could be the difference-maker for the Americans, as he contributed to the first two goals in their 3-2 friendly win against Senegal in May.
Being the talisman of the team, Pulisic to score or assist at 13/10 (2.30) appeals to us as a bet.
Overall, we are predicting a Correct score – 1-0 at 11/2 (6.50), an ambitious punt but one that has come through in two of the USA's previous three H2H victories.
> USA to win at 1/1 (2.00) | Likelihood: Probable
> Pulisic to score or assist at 13/10 (2.30) | Likelihood: Possible
> Correct score – 1-0 at 11/2 (6.50) | Likelihood: Outsider