Best Bet for USA vs. Paraguay
- USA Moneyline: One of the three host nations will get their World Cup started with a win in front of their home crowd against a team they have a great recent record against.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has finally arrived, and the opening match of Group D will feature one of the host nations, the United States, facing off against Paraguay.
Let’s dive into my favorite bet for this match.
USA vs. Paraguay Prediction, Pick
The United States enters the World Cup ranked 17th in the FIFA rankings, while Paraguay comes in at 40th in the world.
The Americans automatically qualified for the tournament as one of the three host nations, while Paraguay qualified after finishing in the sixth and final automatic qualifying spot of the CONMEBOL standings. They won seven of their games, drawing seven and losing four.
These teams actually played each other in a friendly at the end of last year, with the United States winning 2-1. In fact, the USA has won each of the last three contests between the countries dating back to 2016. All three victories were by the same margin, a single goal.
The United States playing at home is a big advantage in this game, but when you also consider that it’s the opening game of the tournament for them and will be played on a Friday night, the atmosphere should be electric. Since the Gold Cup final in 2025, the USA have played friendlies only. In 10 games, they’ve won five, drawn one and lost four. Three of the four losses came against European powerhouses in Belgium, Portugal and Germany.
Paraguay have enough to keep this close, but the likes of Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun up top for the Americans will ultimately make the difference.
Best Bet: USA Moneyline (-105)
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