Mauricio Pochettino confirmed the United States starting XI for Friday 12 June's home opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, kicking off at 9pm Eastern 1. Folarin Balogun starts as the lone striker, captain Christian Pulisic plays from the left, and Malik Tillman takes the advanced central role ahead of Gio Reyna, with Tyler Adams anchoring midfield as the sole pivot. The fixture opens the USA's home World Cup; it kicks off after this briefing closes, so no scoreline is claimed.
The Tillman call carries the most weight. Reyna was the squad's high-risk selection, kept despite barely five minutes of club football since January , and Pochettino has now read him as an impact substitute rather than a starter. The 4-3-3 the coach locked after the 3-1 friendly defeat to Germany survives, with Tillman occupying the slot a fit Reyna might have expected. Defenders Chris Richards and William Saliba both came through their fitness scares , clearing the last selection doubt before kickoff.
Canada open against Bosnia and Herzegovina at BMO Field in Toronto on the same evening, without Marcelo Flores, whose tournament ended with a ruptured knee ligament before it began . Both co-hosts therefore start their campaigns on the same night, and both fixtures fall after this update, which carries no result for either.
