Pre-match: 6/12/26 9PM EST USA vs Paraguay: Game 1 of the big show

We are going to carry the majority of possession in this one (likely all three groups games really, while in neutral game script).

What I am focused on is how we are set up defensively when we lose the ball. Will the opponent have numbers forward? Where are Dest and Robinson and how quickly can they recover? Are Adams and his partner close available to delay the initial ball?

Possession is sexy but it leaves us vulnerable. Just ask Mexico against us in the early 2000s.

 

Totally different take on needing Richards against Paraguay. If he isn't 100% ready I am not playing him. You guys act like our D is dead without him. Newsflash we gave up 2 goals to Senegal and Germany. Paraguays attack is not close to either of those two.

 

I agree. Richards sits until he's essentially 100%, or we face a knock-out match.

I really don't like going into our first WC match without being fully loaded, but I would be against risking him for the later stages of the tournament. We have cover. It's not ideal, but we should be able to win this match.

 

Some games you should win because you are better than they are. We open the wWorld Cup with 2 of them.

 

Paraguay can still be dangerous. They scored on us with a long ball out wide. We didnt recover in time and the Forward had a free header.

Oh, the CB who lost the goal scorer? Miles Robinson.

 

I need to see us show fight (not the red card stuff) and grit in this match. I don’t care if we score ugly goals—may need a set piece or two. Just show what it takes to get three points out of a match against a well organized team defensively.

 

I will be there. Looking forward to it.

 

Don’t we all agree McKenzie or Trusty should start ahead of Miles?

 

Seems like a no brainer. Today might have been just to rule miles out.

 

seems like Poch could have made this decision months ago rather than waiting until the last friendly.

 

I think we will likely see the same lineup vs Paraguay that we saw today except Richards at RB. If A. Robinson is hurt, other than cramps, then Weah will probably play LWB. Going to be exciting, we haven’t seen a full team play a real match in forever. Since Copa. Going to be a fun week.

 

I still have no idea who Poch will throw out there for goal keeper. Only know that Miles is probably not starting.

 

Almost identical to the previous cycle where Aaron Long got 2 starts in our last pre-WC friendlies and basically played himself out of a chance at meaningful minutes.

 

Would go with both over Ream and Miles.

 

@bungadiri @dark knight , can we get the match date inserted in the thread title?

 

Having two tens in the lineup isn’t the preferred method vs teams like Germany where possession will be closer to fifty-fifty. Having two tens will work for teams who switch between a bunker low block to a counter press. The preferred formation vs Paraguay and Australia. If we were to go a more defensive midfield combination that will be interesting because both McKennie and Tillman can work box to box.

Paraguay will play stingy defense to start out and what they will hope to do is keep things level until the 65 then put on about ten minutes of confusion and route one blitz and see if they can steal a goal. Then bunker down again. It seems like the normal go to card for outmatched teams. We used to play that way.

If we can score early then we can get Paraguay to open up. But it also means that we could be vulnerable ourselves to pressure. I believe we do have the skill level now to break down pressure. Vs Germany we got the ball forward on multiple occasions and had 4 to 5 missed one v one scoring chances based off ball placement. Thats a read and understanding what angle the defenders will take.

The freedom in attack the US has displayed under Poch is the freedom a team displays when playing in inconsequential competitions. Something a team who plays only friendlies has the luxury to do. It will be interesting to see how we look or attack when things matter.

 

it’s Fox to so actual kickoff time vs when coverage starts

 

I do. It’s Freese with 99.5% certainty. I don’t love the decision but Freese was the starter for every game but 2 since Gold Cup 2025. He started the most important friendly right before the WC and played 90. I would prefer Turner but after all that it’s pretty clear that Poch is going in a different direction. As I said on another thread, I take this to be a conservative choice: Turner can win games with amazing saves but has the capacity for game-losing gaffes as well. Freese is less likely to do either, as he’s shown since the GC. Nothing extraordinary, nothing horrific. The conservative choice.

 

Does anyone actually know anything about Paraguay instead of inferring from our relative FIFA/ELO rankings that we’re clearly the better team? They qualified automatically from Conmebol, which is no joke. They improved over the course of qualifying, including wins v both Brazil and Argentina. None of that suggests doormat to me.

I don’t know much about them but I recall well the 1998-2010 Paraguay teams that were brutally effective in defense and could strike on the counter to steal a game. They made the WC every time in that span and got to the R16 twice and the quarters once. That was decades ago of course, so doesn’t indicate anything about their current form.

That we beat them last year is a good sign, though not sure how much to make of it—was it their full team, etc, plus it was a one-off friendly so not something you can read a lot into. And while it’s regrettable the loss of Enciso can only help us. They beat Nicaragua 4-0 even without him but of course they did, they were playing at home against a Concacaf minnow the likes of which we usually destroy with our B/C team in the group stage of the Gold Cup.

To be clear, based on the limited data I have (plus a bunch of homer bias) I feel good that we can win, but I’m also cagey about it bc I know how much I don’t know about them. And I can also see a hyped-up, battle-tested Conmebol team with a tradition of suffocating defense being very, very hard for us to break down.

 

Turkey & beyond is where we need Richards the most. Rest him until he is healthy. We don't need him aggravating the injury in a match we can win without him.
We beat Senegal. We can beat Paraguay & Australia.

I wish Wright would have got some minutes.

McKenzie needs to start instead of Robinson if Richards is out.

I might prefer Turner in goal.

 

Agreed. I have “should win” feelings as well but at the same time our group opponents are going to be energized and see a favorable path forward as well. I’d not be too shocked by a sucker punch result.