US men’s national soccer team World Cup opener struggles as FIFA ticket prices push fans away despite home advantage

The United States men’s national soccer team is set to open its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Paraguay, but early signs show a worrying trend. Fans are not rushing to buy tickets.

Numbers shared in a document dated April 10, first reported by The Athletic, show that only 40,934 tickets had been sold for the opening game at that point. This match will take place on June 12 at SoFi Stadium, which can hold around 69,650 people. Even with such a big stage and a home team playing, the demand looks lower than expected. At the same time, other matches in the same stadium are quietly doing better, which has raised questions about what is going wrong here.

Reports suggest one clear reason, ticket prices are simply too high for many fans.

USA vs Paraguay ticket sales lag as FIFA prices rise and Iran, Belgium, Switzerland games see stronger demand

The numbers shared by The Athletic show a clear pattern. While the United States opening game is struggling, other matches are moving faster. The Iran vs New Zealand match, scheduled just three days later at the same stadium, has already sold 50,661 tickets. That is nearly 10,000 more than USA vs Paraguay.It does not stop there. Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Switzerland has sold close to 47,000 tickets, and Iran vs Belgium has crossed the 50,000 mark. Even the United States’ final group match at the same venue, against Turkiye, had sold fewer than 40,000 tickets at that time. So why is the host nation not drawing crowds?A big reason seems to be pricing. Ticket costs for this World Cup are very high.

Category 1 seats are priced at $2,730. Category 2 tickets cost $1,940, while Category 3 seats, usually the upper sections, are still priced at $1,120. For many fans, these numbers are hard to accept.So far, FIFA has not shown any sign of lowering these prices. In fact, FIFA president Gianni Infantino explained their ticket plan earlier. He said, “We have sold around 5 million tickets,” and added that the organization is keeping some tickets back to sell closer to the tournament to give late buyers a chance.At the same time, something interesting is happening on FIFA’s resale platform. Some fans who already bought tickets for the USA opener are now listing them below the original price. That clearly shows demand is not as strong as expected.On the field, results have not helped either. The United States recently lost matches against Belgium and Portugal in Atlanta, which may also be affecting fan excitement ahead of the tournament. Right now, all signs point to one thing, unless prices change or excitement builds again, the USA’s opening World Cup match may not see the full house many expected.