FIFA sweating as USMNT opening World Cup match being outsold by Iran vs New Zealand

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Martin Macdonald | Author

FIFA are struggling to sell out the USMNT's opening match of the 2026 World Cup to the point where USA vs Paraguay is currently being outsold by Iran vs New Zealand.

In the first match of Group D, USA will face Paraguay at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles which has a capacity of around 70,000 spectators for NFL matches.

The Athletic has gained access to a document distributed to local organisers, dated 10 April and it shows that 40,934 tickets have been purchased for the match between the USA and Paraguay on 12 June, compared with 50,661 for the Iran versus New Zealand match three days later at the same venue in LA.

It is unclear at this point what kind of tickets are available and what category they fall into but tickets are, on average, much more expensive for USA's match than Iran and New Zealand.

A FIFA spokesperson said in response to the document that “ticket sales for the FIFA World Cup remain strong with a high degree of interest for all matches, including the ones you have highlighted.”

They added that the document “does not accurately reflect actual sales to date” and “it would be misleading and irresponsible to publish such figures as fact."

FIFA group stage matches went on sale in October and the match between USA and Paraguay was the third-most expensive in the entire tournament, behind only the World Cup final and one semi-final. Category 1 and Category 2 tickets, priced at $2,730 and $1,940, have remained available up until April.

For other games, increased demand has led to an increase in prices but that hasn't been the case for that match due to the lack of demand.

Apathy growing due to prices?

The prices for USA versus Paraguay have apparently acted as a deterrent for those wanting to attend the match, which is reflected in the ticket sales.

It is yet another pricing story that has dominated a lot of the headlines heading into the World Cup as football fans face the most expensive tournament in history to travel to, whether that be due to match ticket prices, flights, accommodation, travel to and from the stadium, or even parking.

The news of the struggling ticket sales for the opening match comes a week after it was confirmed that a bus ride from New York Penn Station to MetLife Stadium could cost as much as $150 for the 18-mile trip.

The normal fee for that trip is around $12.90 so those travelling to World Cup matches from New York are paying nearly eight times as much for the same distance.

There was also fury at the Boston World Cup committee's decision to offer $95 return tickets to and from the Gillette Stadium during the tournament, as they received criticism for increasing the prices tenfold for train tickets to and from the stadium.

Both New York and New Jersey state officials have blamed FIFA for those prices though, as they claim they need to recoup money for security and logistics costs.

On average, the price of a hotel room in North America has increased by 328% since the group stage draw was made in December, too.

The cities hosting games at the tournament will be Toronto, Vancouver, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco all the report indicates that the prices for hotel rooms in all these locations have significantly increased.

The average increase in Mexico City is 961% which is more than any other location.

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