30,000 Seats Still Unsold for USMNT's World Cup Opener as FIFA Prices Backfire
FIFA has a problem at SoFi Stadium, and that's its price tag. With the United States' first World Cup match in 32 years on home soil scheduled for June 12 against Paraguay, nearly 30,000 of SoFi Stadium's 69,650 seats remain unsold — and fans have made clear why. The USMNT opener was priced as the third most expensive game of the entire tournament, and so far, American soccer fans are not playing along.
The Numbers Tell the Story
A document distributed to local organizers in Los Angeles, first reported by The Athletic, showed that as of April 10, only 40,934 tickets had been purchased for the USA-Paraguay match. That figure left roughly 29,000 seats still available — a striking shortfall for what should be the most anticipated game on the schedule for American fans.
The comparison to nearby games makes the situation harder to explain away. The Iran vs. New Zealand match at the same stadium three days later had already moved 50,661 tickets, roughly 10,000 more than the host nation's opener. If a game featuring neither team from the host country is outselling it by that margin, something has gone wrong with the pricing model, not the appetite for soccer.
How FIFA Set the Price Floor
When the first round of World Cup tickets went on sale in October, Category 1 seats for the USMNT opener were listed at $2,730, Category 2 at $1,940, and Category 3 at $1,120. Those figures placed the match behind only the final and one semifinal in terms of cost. Category 1 tickets are more than six times what an equivalent seat would cost for the Iran-New Zealand game.
Those prices have not changed. Unlike virtually every other major event on the calendar over the past six months, where prices have adjusted with demand, FIFA has held firm. The result: more than 4,000 tickets have appeared on the secondary market, with some already selling below face value. The broader economic climate isn't helping either, with Americans already managing rising costs across the board.
It's Not Just the USMNT Game
The USA-Paraguay match is not the only one struggling. Canada's opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina is also among the fixtures with high remaining availability. Other slow sellers include New Zealand vs. Egypt, Uzbekistan vs. DR Congo, Saudi Arabia's matches against Cape Verde and Uruguay, and several games involving Austria, Jordan, and Algeria.
The pattern across that list suggests the issue is pricing structure more than lack of interest. The games priced as marquee events — including one involving the host country — are the ones sitting half-empty weeks out. For American fans already dealing with rising travel costs, a $2,730 floor for a single ticket is simply too much.
FIFA Responds With a New Sales Phase
On April 22, FIFA announced a "Last-Minute Sales Phase." The new round covers all 104 matches, abandons the lottery system used in earlier phases, and switches to a first-come, first-served public purchase model. Tickets will continue to become available on a rolling basis through the end of the World Cup.
FIFA has said that more than five million tickets have been sold overall, and the governing body is projecting that cumulative attendance will surpass the 3.5 million record set at the 1994 World Cup. That target remains achievable, but filling SoFi Stadium for June 12 will require either a wave of late demand or some quiet flexibility on prices. Whether enough American fans decide they can afford the opener — or find alternative ways to be part of the moment — remains to be seen.
A Self-Inflicted Problem
This was supposed to be one of the easiest sells in modern World Cup history. The United States is hosting, the national team is playing its first home group stage game since 1994, and SoFi Stadium is a state-of-the-art venue in one of the country's largest media markets. That roughly half the seats are still available two months out is not bad luck. It is the direct result of pricing that excluded the very fans most likely to fill them. As FIFA continues to chase records, the cost of withholding flexibility from the people you depend on has a way of showing up in empty seats.
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