US set for first World Cup finals game on home soil since 1994

LOS ANGELES: The US begin their World Cup challenge on Friday, taking on a savvy Paraguay side in a high-stakes match in Los Angeles.

The World Cup co-hosts know they must avoid a banana skin at the futuristic SoFi Stadium in the first World Cup finals game on US soil for 32 years.

US head coach Mauricio Pochettino says he expects his team to do much more than simply progress from Group D.

“For me, successful is to win. Is to win tomorrow. And win after,” the former Tottenham coach said on Thursday.

“If we don’t arrive to the final and we don’t win the World Cup, to talk about ‘successful’? I don’t know,” he said.

A talented crop of US players led by Christian Pulisic need to prove themselves against the world’s best, while dealing with the pressures of playing in front of their own fans.

Pulisic insisted the squad around him is “able to compete with anyone”.

“We want to be a real force in this tournament,” he told AFP.

“We’ve got three really good games to show everyone what we’re all about,” he said.

Pochettino, an Argentine, has insisted his team need to be equal to the streetwise South Americans.

“We know we have to be ready to battle. It’s not about just playing beautiful football,” said Pulisic.

US state secretary Mario Rubio will attend the opening match.

President Donald Trump has said he would be present at other games in the tournament, without specifying which.

The game in Los Angeles will be preceded by a Hollywood-style opening ceremony featuring Katy Perry and a host of music stars.

In Friday’s other game, co-hosts Canada go in search of the first World Cup win in their history as they tackle Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto.

Canada must do without their star player Alphonso Davies, who is still recovering from a hamstring issue.

Dramatic opener

The World Cup kicked off in dramatic fashion in Mexico City on Thursday where Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy got the packed 80,000 crowd at the Estadio Azteca on their feet.

Co-hosts Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in a game that featured three red cards.

Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament after nine minutes and 35-year-old striker Raul Jimenez headed in Mexico’s second at the Azteca, which became the first stadium in the world to host games at three World Cups.

There was a festive atmosphere inside the stadium, but outside dozens of protesters clashed with police in chaotic scenes.

Groups of teachers, relatives of Mexicans who have gone missing, and student activists gathered outside the stadium.

Some protesters broke through barriers and traded blows with police officers guarding the stadium’s perimeter moments after Mexico scored their opening goal.

Mexico’s victory launched a 48-team tournament that will culminate in the final in New Jersey on July 19.

South Korea got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start by beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in the opening day’s second game.

Until the 80th-minute mark, it seemed that the Czechs would punish the Koreans’ wastefulness in front of goal, but substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu notched the decisive goal in a Guadalajara stadium that was far from full.

The start of the action on the pitch will have come as a welcome relief to football’s world governing body Fifa, which has faced stinging criticism over the eye-watering cost of tickets.

In addition, Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has seen a top referee, Iranian team officials and fans refused entry to the US.

Infantino portrayed Iran’s participation at the World Cup in the midst of its military conflict with the US as a victory for his organisation, claiming he did not know if any other body could have pulled it off.

Four days after they arrived at their base camp in Mexico, the Iran players finally allowed reporters to watch them train Thursday.

They face New Zealand in Los Angeles in their first game Monday.