The United States play their first World Cup finals game on home soil in 32 years on Friday, facing a streetwise Paraguay side at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The match is high stakes for the co-hosts, who know a slip-up could derail their tournament before it really starts.
US head coach Mauricio Pochettino isn't hiding his ambition. "For me, successful is to win. Is to win tomorrow. And win after," the Argentine 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."
Captain Christian Pulisic backed his squad to deliver. "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." Pulisic also warned that Paraguay won't be pushovers. "We know we have to be ready to battle. It's not about just playing beautiful football."
US Secretary of State Mario Rubio will attend the opening match. President Donald Trump has said he'll be at other games but hasn't said which ones.
The game will be preceded by a Hollywood-style opening ceremony featuring Katy Perry and other music stars. SoFi Stadium, a futuristic venue in Inglewood, California, will host the first World Cup match on US soil since the 1994 tournament.
In Friday's other game, co-hosts Canada face Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto, looking for their first ever World Cup win. They'll have to do it without star player Alphonso Davies, who's still recovering from a hamstring injury.
The tournament kicked off on Thursday in Mexico City with a dramatic 2-0 win for Mexico over South Africa. The game featured three red cards. Julian Quinones scored the first goal of the tournament after nine minutes, and Raul Jimenez headed in the second. The Estadio Azteca became the first stadium in the world to host games at three different World Cups.
Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy performed before the match in front of 80,000 fans. But outside the stadium, dozens of protesters clashed with police. Teachers, relatives of missing people, and student activists broke through barriers and traded blows with officers after Mexico scored their first goal.
South Korea beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the other opening day game. Substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the winner in the 80th minute in a stadium that was far from full.
The start of the tournament has been a relief for FIFA, which has faced heavy criticism over ticket prices. Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has also caused problems — a top referee, Iranian team officials, and fans have been refused entry to the United States.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino portrayed Iran's participation at the World Cup, despite its military conflict with the US, as a victory for his organisation. He said he didn't know if any other body could have pulled it off. Iran, who face New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday, finally allowed reporters to watch them train on Thursday, four days after arriving at their base camp in Mexico.
The 48-team tournament will end with the final in New Jersey on July 19.