Team Paraguay Arrives in San José Ahead of World Cup Games at Levi’s

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off Thursday in Mexico City — the largest edition of the tournament in history, with 48 nations competing — San José has positioned itself as one of its central hubs. Paraguay’s base camp is at SJSU.

Both team hotels for the tournament are in San José. The venue-specific training site is at PayPal Park. And starting June 11, downtown San Pedro Square Market will host watch parties for all 104 matches over 39 days, free to the public; the largest and longest viewing party series in the Bay Area.

Paraguay, ranked 40th in the world and making their ninth World Cup appearance, will face the United States in Los Angeles on Friday, June 12, before returning to the Bay Area for matches against Australia and Turkey at Levi’s Stadium — temporarily renamed the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium — in Santa Clara. The team’s base camp remains at SJSU through the group stage.

At Monday’s open practice, fans from across the region watched as coaches barked instructions and players moved around the field practicing drills. Kar Burgess, who drove over from the East Bay with his father, Evan, said the experience had made him an instant convert.

“My favorite part was seeing how the intensity is always high and never drops, even when they’re just training,” the young fan said. Walking out, he clutched a FIFA autograph book he had gotten signed.

Konya said the moment carried particular meaning for the university, which last hosted a World Cup base camp during the 1994 tournament that was also held in the United States, with games played up the Peninsula at Stanford University.

“We were back in ’94 and now again here in ’26,” he said. “We couldn’t be more thrilled.”

The World Cup’s economic footprint is expected to be significant. At a press conference earlier Monday at San Pedro Square Market, Mayor Matt Mahan said the regional economic impact is projected to land somewhere between $480 and $630 million, with the bulk of it concentrated in the South Bay.

“Every single event that comes into the Bay, the first city that calls me is San José,” Bay Area Host Committee CEO Zaileen Janmohamed said. “They say: how do we get involved, how do we make it the biggest thing possible? You have leadership in this city that cares.”

The San José Earthquakes team is organizing the Soccer Celebration watch parties at San Pedro Square, like the city previously did for Super Bowl fans. San José Earthquakes President Jared Shawlee said the goal is to make the tournament feel accessible to everyone, including those who cannot afford match tickets, some of which are running thousands of dollars, at Levi’s Stadium.

“For 39 days, this will be the home of the World Cup in San José,” Shawlee said. “Families, friends, soccer fans and visitors from around the world will have a place to come together and experience the biggest sporting event on the planet.”

The watch parties will feature multiple large screens, the biggest nearly 500 square feet, along with food vendors offering World Cup-themed menus, youth zones and an outdoor entertainment zone where fans can purchase and carry to-go alcoholic beverages. Admission is free with an RSVP. The celebration runs through the tournament’s final match on July 19.

Mahan, a former youth soccer coach, said the city is also working to extend the World Cup energy beyond downtown — with programming planned at Mexican Heritage Plaza and commercial districts across all 10 council districts.

“There’s nowhere better than San José to welcome the world,” Mahan said. “The world already lives in San José; over 40% of our residents were born in another country. So we are ready to host anyone and everyone from around the world and make them feel at home.”