FIFA faces difficulties in ticket sales for the USA’s debut.

A FIFA is facing an unexpected and concerning scenario ahead of the 2026 World Cup: ticket sales for the United States national team’s debut are dragging at an alarmingly slow pace, defying all predictions and leaving organizers on high alert. The opening match against Paraguay, scheduled to take place at the iconic SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, is far from captivating the expected ticket sales, raising doubts about the impact of exorbitant prices and the response from American fans.

Internal documents leaked on April 10 and directed to local officials reveal troubling numbers: only 40,934 tickets have been sold for the USA match, while the game between Iran and New Zealand, set for three days later at the same stadium, has already secured 50,661 tickets sold. The SoFi Stadium has an official capacity of 69,650 seats for the tournament, but FIFA and the Los Angeles organizing committee remain completely silent regarding the inclusion of hospitality tickets or other exclusive categories, which adds further mystery to the analysis of the figures.

The root of the problem is clear: astronomical prices are driving fans away. When tickets went on sale last October, the USA-Paraguay match was immediately labeled as the third most expensive game of the World Cup, trailing only the final and a semi-final. With Category 1 tickets costing 2,300 euros and Category 2 tickets priced at 1,650 euros, many fans simply refuse to pay such prohibitive amounts. The persistence of these tickets in subsequent sales phases is a clear sign of disinterest, or rather, the frustration caused by inaccessible costs.

This situation is even stranger when compared to other matches of the 2026 World Cup, where FIFA, faced with what it described as “unprecedented” demand, decided to raise prices by hundreds of euros to maximize revenue. However, for the opening match of the USA, prices remained unchanged in the three main categories – a unique case among all host nations (USA, Canada, and Mexico), which have seen their tickets undergo significant price adjustments in the last six months.

It is not only the United States’ debut that is struggling to attract an audience. Canada’s opening game is also facing lukewarm demand, as part of a set of nine matches with a large availability of tickets. Among these, there are matchups involving teams considered to be of lesser stature in the global landscape, such as Austria, Jordan, Algeria, New Zealand, Egypt, Uzbekistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, and Uruguay.

Despite these worrying signs, FIFA President Gianni Infantino remains optimistic and recently reaffirmed that around “5 million” of the 6.7 million total tickets for the World Cup have already been sold. Infantino explained that the organization chose to withhold a portion of the tickets to “give opportunities to latecomers,” creating a tactic of apparent scarcity to stimulate demand in the final phase of sales.

This strategy, however, may not be enough to reverse the weak turnout for the host team’s debut, a crucial factor for the success of the event on American soil. With the World Cup on the horizon, FIFA will need to quickly find solutions to prevent the stadiums from being far from full, at the risk of compromising the atmosphere and impact of the biggest event in world football. The question that remains is clear: will the exorbitant prices drive away true fans of the spectacle, or will the organization manage to reverse this worrying trend?

This article first appeared on Apito Final.