Thousands of tickets remain available for USA World Cup opener vs. Paraguay; Will it sell out?

The Athletic ^ | May 29, 2026 | Henry Bushnell

[MinorityRepublican]

Thousands of tickets remain unsold for the United States’ high-priced World Cup opener, with data captured by The Athletic and other sources suggesting that the game is not on pace to sell out at current prices and purchasing rates.

As of Thursday evening, two weeks before the 2026 World Cup begins, there were more than 3,500 tickets available on FIFA’s primary portal for the June 12 match between the U.S. and Paraguay.

There were also over 6,500 tickets listed on FIFA’s resale platform, meaning there are over 10,000 tickets available for the match, which was initially billed as one of the tournament’s most attractive games.

The 6,500 (and many more listed on third-party resale sites) are tickets that have been sold or distributed, either to fans or scalpers, but are now being offered to prospective buyers. It’s unclear how many would be used if they don’t re-sell.

The 3,500, on the other hand, have not been sold, and there could be even more not yet listed for sale. FIFA has held back tickets throughout the sales process, and does not publicly reveal sales or availability data.

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TOPICS: Sports
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[zeestephen]

Soccer is so boring.

90% of Soccer game action is like watching an American Football quarterback hand off, three times in a row, to the fullback, who then gains two yards each carry, running straight into the center of the defensive front line.

Then, the USA punter comes in, and kicks the ball 45-50 yards down field.

Then, the other team sends in their offense, they repeat the three useless hand off plays to their fullback, and then also punt on fourth down.

[cowboyusa]

The Running Back gained 6. 5 Meters.

[dznutz]

Why would any American want to go to a global soccer event on the nation’s 250th anniversary?

I suppose most in attendance would probably be democrats and third world illegal aliens.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

No red-blooded American want's to spend the afternoon watching some sexual deviants prance around like woodland fairies.

[MinorityRepublican]

The NFL is the opposite. They want more scoring so the running game has little effect on the game other than to run out the clock. Baseball has the DH-it stinks.

Too many commercials in a NFL game. I agree with you on the DH rule in baseball-it changed the game just like the 3 point line in basketball.

[dfwgator]

All rule changes were made in order to get more women to watch.

“Chicks dig the long ball!”

[LegendHasIt]

My guess is that the organizers vastly overestimated the number of millionaire and billionaire rabid soccer fans in North America.

[SaveFerris]

Hours and hours of soccer ⚽⚽⚽

Guy Caballero

[voicereason]

Will our football take over the world like salsa replacing ketchup?

Let’s hope not! Three hours to play. 60 minute game, when the ball is only in play about 18 minutes.

Oh, and let’s not forget that the NFL league isn’t even pro-American.

[tennmountainman]

Who cares?

[neverevergiveup]

That's funny, but not accurate. ~200,000 tickets to the World Cup in Brazil (2014) were bought in the US. 20,000 US fans traveled to the opening game.

I played some baseball in college, boxed some, and was a big NFL and NBA fan, so an average American sports fan. I never played or knew anything about soccer when I was a kid. The first soccer game I ever saw was in the US and I didn't understand the game at all. I wasn't a fan, and I actually had a thing against soccer because of the whole ‘soccer mom’ liberalism at the time.

Then I actually learned about world football, initially in Italy (like Kobe Bryant did), saw a few professional world-class games, and started watching. It's not what you might think. World-class soccer players are outstanding athletes. There are no time outs in soccer, the only way a player can rest is to be subbed out - and they can't come back in after that, and players often run significantly more than a 10K per game. Even if you don't like soccer, you really should give them their due as athletes.

[TalBlack]

“Soccer just doesn’t appeal to america“

I get a kick out of how they try to make soccer look fast action packed and dynamic in the commercials. Every once in a while I surf into a game and I’ll watch for twenty minutes or so waiting for something to happen and it never does. At the rare times the ball gets into what would be the paint on a soccer field there’s no coordination to get it in the net and it just gets kicked away very quickly. BORING.

[VetoBill]

To 99% of traditional Americans, soccer is something their children play until they are old enough to play a real sport.

[Racketeer]

I pray this WC event is a complete and total failure. This is a football country.

[stanne]

I wouldn’t say that myself, but Americans are just not going to take to soccer. They keep trying but it doesn’t work

[vpintheak]

They are trying to charge over $1000/ticket. Screw these people.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

America is known as the land of innovation. Topless female soccer in a stadium with giant
jumbotrons would really pack in the fans. Throw in $1 beers, and you'd have a sure fire winner.

[A strike]

FOAD foreign replacement btch