FIFA risk embarrassment as 2026 World Cup tickets ‘lagging behind’ for USA opener at SoFi Stadium

The United States' opening game of the 2026 World Cup was expected to be one of the hottest tickets of the tournament.

Instead, it appears FIFA is struggling to sell out the stadium.

USA opening game vs Paraguay at 2026 World Cup isn't sold out

2026 World Cup organisers are reportedly facing slower-than-expected ticket sales for the USMNT's opening match against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium.

According to figures shared with local organisers, around 40,934 tickets had been sold for the June 12th clash as of April 10th, via The Athletic.

That is significantly fewer than the 50,661 reportedly sold for Iran vs New Zealand at the same stadium three days later.

FIFA lists SoFi Stadium's World Cup capacity at 69,650, meaning tens of thousands of seats may still need to be filled.

The likely reason is price.

When tickets first went on sale, FIFA made USA vs Paraguay the third-most expensive match of the entire tournament, behind only the final and one semi-final.

Category 1 tickets were priced at $2,730 (£2,000), while Category 2 seats cost $1,940 (£1,435) and Category 3 tickets were $1,120 (£829).

Unlike many other World Cup games, FIFA has not increased prices for the USA opener in recent months, largely because demand has never reached the level expected.

Thousands of tickets remain available through FIFA’s website, while more than 4,000 have also been listed on the resale market, with some already being sold below face value.

That is in stark contrast to many other matches, where tickets have been snapped up quickly, and prices have continued to rise.

FGG says: Hardly surprising but still a damaging look for FIFA

The biggest surprise is not that the USA opener has failed to sell out less than two months from the tournament, but that FIFA ever thought fans would pay these sorts of prices in the first place.

Charging more than £2,000 for a standard ticket to the host nation’s opening match was always going to put supporters off, especially when travel, hotels and transport are already proving hugely expensive.

But the fact that even a home World Cup game involving the United States is struggling to sell is a particularly bad look for FIFA.

This should have been one of the easiest matches of the tournament to fill.

Instead, the empty seats and falling resale prices are becoming another sign that FIFA may simply have pushed fans too far.