1 hour ago
4
The US Men’s National Team kicked off the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 4-1 demolition of Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, marking the country’s first World Cup match on home soil in 32 years. For crypto, the moment matters too: Kraken is FIFA’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter, putting digital assets front and center at the biggest sporting event on the planet.
The June 12 opener drew 70,492 fans and delivered the largest US margin of victory in World Cup play since 1930.
A first half for the history books
Folarin Balogun scored twice before halftime, and Paraguay’s Damián Bobadilla contributed an own goal to hand the US a 3-0 lead at the break. It was the first time the USMNT led a World Cup match by three goals since the team’s debut tournament nearly a century ago.
Gio Reyna added a fourth in the second half, providing a comfortable cushion even after Paraguay pulled one back.
The expanded 2026 tournament features 48 teams across 16 host cities, a significant jump from the 32-team format that had been standard since 1998.
Kraken’s FIFA deal and crypto’s World Cup moment
On June 9, three days before kickoff, FIFA announced Kraken as its Official Crypto Exchange Supporter for the 2026 World Cup. The partnership is focused on fan engagement and education.
Fan tokens and sentiment-driven trading
Chiliz, the company behind the Socios.com platform, has built an entire business around tokenized fan engagement for sports teams. Various national team fan tokens have seen sentiment-driven trading as the tournament approaches.
The US doesn’t currently have its own national team fan token. That absence is notable given the host-nation status and the surge of domestic interest the opener generated.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
English (US) · 