Katy Perry headlined the 2026 FIFA World Cup USA Opening Ceremony on Friday night, June 12, at Inglewood’s Los Angeles Stadium, turning the final stop in the tournament’s three-part launch into a pop-heavy lead-in to the United States’ opening match. She was joined by LISA, Anitta, Tyla, Rema, Future, Dan + Shay and Purahei Soul before the U.S. Men’s National Team faced Paraguay.
The timing mattered because the U.S. ceremony was not a standalone show. It was the last of three opening ceremonies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, following Thursday’s event at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca and Canada’s ceremony at Toronto’s BMO Field. That structure put the United States at the end of the opening slate, with Inglewood serving as the final stage before the tournament shifted fully to match play.
The lineup mixed anthem duty, album cuts and stadium spectacle. Future and Tyla performed the 2026 World Cup song “Game Time” 90 minutes before kick-off. LISA, Anitta and Rema delivered “Goals,” while Dan + Shay handled “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Purahei Soul sang the Paraguayan national anthem. Perry closed the show’s center with “Wonder,” joined by 10-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka for the live debut of the song.
What keeps the ceremony from reading like a routine opening-night package is the way the performances were split across the three launches. Tyla was the only artist to appear at more than one opening ceremony, a choice that linked the separate country events even as each one stood on its own. It also made the multi-nation rollout feel coordinated rather than fragmented, with one performer threading through the launch in a way the others did not.
The match that followed gave the night a sharp finish. The U.S. Men’s National Team beat Paraguay 4-1, sending the home crowd into the tournament with a result that matched the scale of the pregame show. USA’s next game is against Australia on June 19, and the opening-night billing now sits behind a win rather than a warning.
