World Cup 2026 USA opening ceremony LIVE: Katy Perry and Future to perform but Donald Trump snubs first game – UK Times

“Don’t talk about it, be about it,” Clint Dempsey says on Fox Sports.

“This is where money is earned, your legacy, people will remember you for World Cups, it doesn’t get any better than that. It was a chippy, hard-fought win, don’t think they will forget.

“The key for the USA tonight is coming up with ideas, opportunities in tight space, play forward quickly.”

“The pitch is perfect, this is a rematch, it was chippy, it was feisty,” Landon Donovan says on Fox Sports.

“Mexico set the blueprint, Canada today, but USA need to win today. Don’t be too excited or too emotional, you have to play the game and execute.

“There’s pressure, yes, but you can be an absolute star after this tournament.”

Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but Donald Trump was loudly booed in his hometown this week when he appeared at the NBA Finals in New York’s Madison Square Garden. He then decided against travelling to Los Angeles for the USA’s first game of the World Cup due to a “tight schedule”, according to the executive director of the White House, Andrew Giuliani.

One can imagine how the LA crowd would have reacted to images of Trump on the monstrous screen that hangs down over the SoFi Stadium. California is Democratic heartland and the noise would have been so undeniably, unavoidably hostile that even Trump would have had trouble denying the truth. The White House will instead send a party from Washington led by secretary of state Mark Rubio.

It is unusual for Trump, who doesn’t usually let a tight schedule get in the way of sports events. He has appeared at the Super Bowl, UFC fights, the Ryder Cup, the Fifa Club World Cup final and the men’s US Open final. Reactions have been mixed: he was booed at a World Series baseball game in 2019 and hit with chants of “Lock him up!”; there was a far warmer reception at the Ryder Cup, where the crowd of American golf fans looked not unlike an NRA convention.

The World Cup got underway in frantic fashion last night as Mexico City beat South Africa at the Azteca – here’s Ed Malyon’s report:

If we are honest, as football fans, we needed this.

We needed an end to the gouging and the politicking and the shambles, to the power games and the bad faith actions of those who run the show.

What we needed was the show.

Thankfully that show has now begun and with the arrival of football the conversations can change a little.

Are Mexico contenders to win it all? No, not on this performance. And yet we can confidently say they will have the greatest home advantage of any team playing at this World Cup, not just because they have easily the most fervent support of the three co-hosts, but also the altitude and potentially the heat, which could benefit them against visitors to this beautifully chaotic, football-mad country.

USA XI: Freese, Freeman, M. Robinson, Ream, A. Robinson, Dest, Adams, McKennie, Tillman, Pulisic, Balogun

Paraguay XI: Gill, Caceres, G. Gomez, Alderete, Alonso, D. Gomez, Bobadilla, Cubas, Almiron, D. Gonzalez, Sanabria

Chris Richards is the main concern for Pochettino, with the Crystal Palace defender having only recently returned to training following an ankle injury.

Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun are expected to headline the attack.

Paraguay’s Julio Enciso picked up a quad issue in a 4-0 friendly win over Nicaragua but is expected to recover in time to feature.

We’ll of course be bringing you all the action from the United States’ World Cup opener after the opening ceremony.

The US begin their campaign against Paraguay, with kick-off at 9pm ET and 6pm PT on Friday 12 June (2am BST on Saturday 13) at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

State figureheads usually appear at their country’s first match of the tournament and Trump was expected to be in the stands. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended Qatar’s opening game against Ecuador in 2022, and Vladimir Putin watched Russia’s first game of the 2018 World Cup against Saudi Arabia in Moscow.

But the US president will not attend instead leaving secretary of state Mark Rubio to travel from Washington with transport secretary Sean Duffy and secretary of homeland security Markwayne Mullin.

Andrew Giuliani, the World Cup task force’s CEO, has confirmed Trump’s plans. “He’s not going to end up attending the opening game,” Giuliani told TalkSport. “As we’ve said, his scheduling is tight. But I know he’s going to be engaged throughout this World Cup.

“But the one thing, having known President Trump for now 30 years, what I can tell you is: expect the unexpected. Always expect a cliffhanger with him. Throughout the course of this tournament, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see him engage more and more with the World Cup.”

With the US still to come, Canada are off the mark!

Co-hosts Canada have World Cup 2026 lift-off after hitting back against Bosnia and Herzogovina in a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Toronto.

Following a star-studded opening ceremony, including Michael Buble and Alanis Morissette, Jesse Marsch’s side fell behind thanks to a first-half header from Jovo Lukic.

But Cyle Larin came off the bench to equalise with a fantastic half-volley in the latter stages before late pressure almost forced a famous comeback victory.