Los Angeles conjures up irresistible spectacle as USA sparkle in opening act | Barney Ronay
Article excerpt
The USA opened the 2026 World Cup in Los Angeles with a convincing performance, delivering the kind of early momentum host nations need. Under Mauricio Pochettino, the American team played with attacking flair on the Pacific coast, creating a celebratory atmosphere that suggested the tournament's theatrical ambitions might actually be met. The victory proved significant not just for the scoreline but for establishing that the hosts could compete at the tournament's highest level while staging a compelling spectacle. Los Angeles and the U.S. team seemed to have answered early doubts about whether this World Cup could transcend the usual opening-match formalities.
Every World Cup needs its hosts to start well, more so this one, and Mauricio Pochettino’s team delivered on a fun day on the Pacific coast
The ball is magic, remember. Just keep watching the ball. On a lovely soft powder blue night in Los Angeles the World Cup produced an opening act on its US front that might have been conjured by the whirling hands of Gianni Infantino himself, a Fifa president who increasingly has the air and the mannerisms of an elite celebrity stage magician. Or at the very least, of a man who appreciates the power of the show.
It turns out California really does know how to put on one of those. There was even a moment before kick-off that seemed to capture the cosmically strange nature of the entire Fifa multiverse. A little later the headline act Katy Perry would appear in a silver bustle and perform on a podium alongside a 10-year-old TikToker.
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