{"id":353777,"date":"2026-06-09T23:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T23:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/353777\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T23:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T23:04:15","slug":"world-cup-fans-show-out-as-san-jose-sjsu-welcome-paraguayan-national-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/353777\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup fans show out as San Jose, SJSU welcome Paraguayan national team"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2014 If it hasn\u2019t yet registered that the World Cup<\/a> is coming to the Bay Area<\/a>, a trip to San Jose State\u2019s soccer facility should do the trick.<\/p>\n

SJSU hosted the Paraguayan national team<\/a> in its first stateside training session on Monday afternoon at the Spartan Soccer Complex, and hundreds of fans lined the bleachers for a glimpse of the team that will set up shop in the South Bay for the next month.<\/p>\n

Some were local and some traveled from far and wide to get a taste of the biggest sporting event in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cJune has been all about the World Cup,\u201d said Viviana Figueredo, a native of Paraguay who has lived in Utah for the past 11 years. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s exciting to be here, to have our country represented. So that\u2019s why we\u2019re here, to support them and enjoy everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"VivianaViviana Figueredo, from South Jordan, Utah, and originally from Paraguay, talks about her experience attending Paraguay’s national soccer team training session at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

SJSU officials told the Bay Area News Group that around 400-500 tickets were sold for the opening-day event featuring FIFA\u2019s 40th-ranked team<\/a>, which had a muted atmosphere but an air of anticipation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paraguayan players took a warmup lap around the field and then got to work navigating through passing, goalkeeping and shooting drills, ending the brief session with some penalty-kick shots. Then the players made their way over to the stands, where they signed autographs for fans, some of whom were wearing striped jerseys for the team known as La Albirroja, or \u201cthe white and red.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until after practice ended that the fans in attendance really got into the World Cup spirit, with some chanting and singing intermittently on their way out of the complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s part of our culture,\u201d Figueredo said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of us. I\u2019m not a sport person, but I love soccer. Soccer has helped unify people, and it\u2019s creating a whole environment where people get together and enjoy it. It\u2019s a way to enjoy time with families and friends. That\u2019s super important. My whole family is traveling with me next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SoccerSoccer fans, some wearing Paraguay\u2019s soccer jersey, pose for a photograph after Paraguay’s national soccer team trained at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Figueredo said she plans to travel to Los Angeles for Paraguay\u2019s opening match on Friday against the United States and attend both matches in Santa Clara \u2013 June 19 against Turkey and June 25 against Australia. Those four teams make up Group D, with the top team from group play returning to Levi\u2019s Stadium for a knockout game on July 1.<\/p>\n

Some locals also stopped by to check out the vibe, including fans of Paraguay\u2019s first opponent. SJSU grad Iber Moreno is a fan of the U.S. and Portugal but came out to experience the Paraguay camp as a fan of the sport at large.<\/p>\n

He did some advance scouting for Friday\u2019s match while also getting some autographs from Paraguay\u2019s players.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I got here, I realized that they\u2019re gonna play Team USA in the first game, so that\u2019s gonna be super exciting to see, knowing that I met some of the players,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cI\u2019ll see them on TV and be like, \u2018Man, I met that player.\u2019 So I\u2019m gonna be super excited to watch the game. And it\u2019s obviously the home opener here in the country, so I think that\u2019ll be doubly exciting to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IberIber Moreno, from San Jose, talks about his experience attending Paraguay’s national soccer team training session at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond the American connection, the magnitude of the occasion was what resonated with Moreno.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, man,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing a huge soccer fan, my family and I love watching the World Cup every four years. It\u2019s super exciting. It\u2019s something that brings us passion to whatever country we support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd especially it being here in the U.S., it\u2019s an experience that I\u2019ve been waiting for, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SoccerSoccer fans, some wearing Paraguay jersey\u2019s, watch Paraguay’s national soccer team train at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"MembersMembers of Paraguay\u2019s national soccer team sign autographs sign training at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Paraguay'sParaguay’s national soccer team head coach Gustavo Alfaro kicks the ball as his team trains at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Paraguay'sParaguay’s national soccer team trains at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Paraguay'sParaguay’s national soccer team trains at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Paraguay'sParaguay’s national soccer team trains at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Paraguay'sParaguay’s national soccer team trains at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"SoccerSoccer fans, some wearing Paraguay jersey\u2019s, watch Paraguay’s national soccer team train at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Paraguay'sParaguay’s national soccer team trains at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Paraguay'sParaguay’s national soccer team trains at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Paraguay'sParaguay’s national soccer team trains at San Jose State University\u2019s Spartan Soccer Complex in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our Inside Sports newsletter<\/a> for all our sports coverage, including game analysis, scores, and everything you want to know about your Bay Area sports teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2014 If it hasn\u2019t yet registered that the World Cup is coming to the Bay Area,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,7,402,181,88,90,89,198,1083,200,127,47118],"class_list":["post-353777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-inside-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-soccer","tag-south-bay","tag-sports","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}