Paraguay 2026 Schedule & Game Calendar

Paraguay’s 2026 World Cup begins on the back foot in Group D

Paraguay drew a Group D that throws three styles at them in quick succession. A host nation from CONCACAF, a European side, and an AFC side, all packed into three matches between June 12 and June 25. The games sit on the West Coast, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, which keeps the schedule tidy for viewers tracking it on Eastern time even as the kickoffs run late.

The opener stung. Paraguay lost 4-1 to the United States at the Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, a result that does double damage in a four-team group. It costs points, and the four-goal margin dents the goal difference that can decide who slips through as a best third-placed team. So the next two fixtures, against Turkey in San Francisco on June 19 and Australia back in San Francisco on June 25, arrive with the pressure already turned up.

The math is not complicated, just demanding. Two teams from every group go through automatically, and the eight best third-placed sides across the 12 groups also reach the Round of 32. After a 4-1 defeat, Paraguay need results, and probably goals, from the Turkey and Australia matches to stay in the picture. The opening night took the easy route off the table. What is left is a recovery job.

Three Group D dates that now carry extra weight for Paraguay

The first one is settled. Paraguay played the United States at 9:00 PM ET on June 12 at the Los Angeles Stadium and lost 4-1, the only one of their three group games staged in Los Angeles. A heavy night, and the kind of start that turns the rest of the group into must-not-lose territory.

Match two sends Paraguay to the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on June 19 for an 11:00 PM ET kickoff against Turkey. It is the latest start of the three and the away fixture in San Francisco. After the opening loss this is the game where Paraguay have to stop the slide, because a second defeat would leave them needing favors elsewhere in Group D. A win flips the mood entirely and puts them back in a fight they control.

The group closes at the same San Francisco venue on June 25, with Paraguay at home against Australia at 10:00 PM ET. By kickoff the table may already be decided, or it may hinge on this result and on goal difference, which is where that 4-1 opener still bites. It is the date to keep free, because where Paraguay finish in Group D is what decides which side of the knockout bracket they would land on, if they get there at all.

Looked at as a set, the three dates trace a steep climb for Paraguay. A heavy defeat in Los Angeles, then two San Francisco nights that both have to go right. There is a small mercy in the layout. With the last two games at the same venue and only six days apart, Paraguay settle in one place for the decisive stretch rather than crossing the map between fixtures. That does nothing to ease the result they need, but it does mean the focus stays on the football. The opener took the comfortable route off the table, and everything from here is about whether Paraguay can win the games in front of them and trim the goal-difference gap at the same time.

The recovery math facing Paraguay in Group D

After a 4-1 opening defeat, the route through Group D is about arithmetic as much as performance. Two teams qualify automatically from every group, and the eight best third-placed teams across the 12 groups fill out the Round of 32. Paraguay can still reach either lane, but the four goals conceded in Los Angeles sit on their goal difference, and that number is the second thing FIFA looks at once points are level. So a win over Turkey in San Francisco does not just lift Paraguay up the table, it starts repairing a deficit that could decide a tie at the end.

Stack the scenarios up and the picture is clear. Beat both Turkey and Australia and Paraguay can climb to second, maybe even first depending on how the other results fall. Take three or four points from the two remaining games and the third-place route comes into play, though that path is a lottery decided by how every other group finishes. Lose again and Paraguay are almost certainly out. Each of the last two matchdays therefore carries the whole campaign, and goals scored could end up mattering as much as the win itself.

The schedule at least keeps things simple to follow. Paraguay’s last two games are both in San Francisco, both late on the Eastern clock, an 11:00 PM ET start against Turkey and a 10:00 PM ET start against Australia. One city, two night kickoffs, after an earlier Los Angeles opener. For fans tracking every minute, that is a tidy spread to plan around, which is what the calendar download below is built to handle.

How the 48-team bracket would treat Paraguay

Survive Group D and the new format takes hold. The 2026 World Cup spans 104 matches and slots in a Round of 32 that the old 32-team setup never had, so there is an extra round to clear before the Round of 16. The top two from each group, plus the eight best third-placed teams, feed into that opening knockout round, and from there the route is pure elimination: Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final on July 19.

Paraguay’s first knockout opponent is unknown for now, and it stays that way until all 12 groups have played their closing fixtures. The bracket assembles from the top as group placings settle, so any opponent for Paraguay only comes into view in the final days of the group stage. The full picture, every group and the bracket as it forms, sits on the 2026 World Cup overview.

For Paraguay, simply reaching the knockouts after a 4-1 opening loss would count as a real turnaround. The expanded bracket gives recovering teams a longer ladder to climb, but it also means one more knockout round than any previous World Cup. Every point from here is about getting onto that ladder in the first place.

Putting Paraguay’s World Cup schedule on your calendar

Every Paraguay fixture listed here can go onto your calendar in a couple of taps. Use the download button on the schedule above to grab the whole campaign as an ICS file, a CSV spreadsheet, or a printable PDF, and choose the full run of matches or just one game if that is all you are after.

The ICS file is the most direct route for most people. Load it into Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook and Paraguay’s group games show up with the kickoff times already converted to your local zone, plus the venue and host city on each entry. Because the feed runs on live tournament data, it stays accurate on its own: a shifted kickoff time, or a confirmed knockout opponent for Paraguay, updates in place without any work from you.

Keeping tabs on a second team as well? The same download options cover every nation at the 2026 World Cup, so you can line Paraguay’s fixtures up beside another side and see the tournament on a single calendar. Mark June 12, June 19, and June 25 for the Group D matches, then let any knockout dates slot in afterward as the bracket fills out.