Day 2 of the World Cup belongs to the hosts. Canada plays a men's World Cup match on home soil for the first time in history this afternoon, and the USA caps the night at SoFi Stadium against Paraguay. In between, the WNBA serves up a two-game slate and the Women's T20 World Cup gets underway in England. Here's how to plan the evening.
Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina — 3:00 PM ET, FOX
Strictly speaking this one kicks off before dinner, but if you can sneak a screen onto your desk, do it — this is a genuine first. Canada has never hosted a men's World Cup match, and Toronto gets the honor of opening Group B against a Bosnia side that qualified through the playoffs and has nothing to lose. The Canadian core that grew up together through two qualifying cycles finally gets a World Cup crowd singing for them instead of against them. The atmosphere alone is worth the watch.
USA vs Paraguay — 9:00 PM ET, FOX and Tubi (free)
The main event. The hosts open their Group D campaign at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, and FOX is treating it accordingly — coverage begins at 6 PM ET with extended build-up before the 9 PM kickoff. If you don't have cable, the match streams free on Tubi, which is about as low-friction as World Cup viewing gets.
Paraguay is precisely the kind of opponent that punishes a nervy host: organized, physical, and content to live without the ball for long stretches. The USA will see plenty of possession; the question is whether the chance creation matches the occasion. We broke down the matchup in detail in this morning's SoFi opener preview on the blog — short version: the first thirty minutes will tell you everything about how the hosts are handling the pressure.
WNBA double-header — from 7:00 PM ET
Two games tonight, and both carry a storyline. Expansion side Toronto Tempo visits the Washington Mystics, while the Golden State Valkyries travel to face the Seattle Storm. The league is riding a wave right now — last night Chelsea Gray tied the WNBA single-game record with nine threes in Portland — and Friday's slate is a good spot-check on how the two newest franchises are settling into the league's middle class.
Bonus: Women's T20 World Cup opens at Edgbaston
Cricket fans get an early start: hosts England open the ICC Women's T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka in Birmingham at 1:30 PM ET (6:30 PM local). If you're working from home, it makes an excellent background watch before the soccer takes over.
If you only watch one thing
It has to be USA vs Paraguay. Host-nation openers are a World Cup genre of their own — the weight of the crowd, the tension of the first goal, the way a stadium exhales when it arrives. Mexico lived it on Wednesday at the Azteca. Tonight it's the USA's turn, and SoFi will be as loud as that building has ever been. A practical viewing order for the committed:
- Canada vs Bosnia at 3 PM for the history.
- WNBA at 7 PM while FOX's pre-game show warms up.
- USA vs Paraguay at 9 PM with no second screen — this one deserves your full attention.
FAQ
What time is the USA World Cup game tonight? Kickoff is 9 PM ET (6 PM PT) at SoFi Stadium. Coverage on FOX starts at 6 PM ET, and the match streams free on Tubi.
Is this Canada's first ever World Cup home game? For the men's tournament, yes. Canada hosted the Women's World Cup in 2015, but today's match in Toronto is the first men's World Cup fixture ever played on Canadian soil.
Where can I follow live scores for everything at once? The Scorelisto soccer page carries live World Cup scores, and the blog has previews and recaps for every matchday of the tournament.
Who plays tomorrow at the World Cup? Saturday's headliner is Brazil vs Morocco at MetLife Stadium (6 PM ET), as Group C gets underway in New Jersey.