USMNT’s First World Cup Opponent Suffers Injury Blow to Star Player

Paraguay may not be at full-strength for its World Cup opener against the USMNT next Friday.

The USMNT may not line up against Paraguay’s Juulo Enciso (right) in the World Cup opener. | Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images, Christian Alvarenga/Getty Images

The U.S. men’s national team’s chances of winning their first World Cup game may have gotten easier on Friday night, as Paraguay star attacker Julio Enciso left a friendly against Nicaragua in immense pain. 

Enciso, 22, was playing his first match of the summer with his national team after finishing the 2025–26 season with a hat-trick in a 5–4 win for Strasbourg over USMNT star Folarin Balogun’s Monaco in Ligue 1 back in May. 

While he lined up on the left in a raucous, flare-filled atmosphere in Paraguay, he had to leave in the 25th minute of his team’s eventual 4–0 win against the Concacaf minnows, subbed off with Paraguay already up 1–0. 

One of Paraguay’s most crucial players, Enciso was carried on a stretcher to leave the pitch after he awkwardly pulled up when collecting a pass. He briefly limped on before crashing to the pitch in immense pain. 

Paraguay's best attacker, Julio Enciso, in tears after being carried off vs Nicaragua in their final tune up before the World Cup.

You hate to see that. pic.twitter.com/8kEGqq3m3x

— herculez gomez (@herculezg) June 6, 2026

Enciso’s manager, Gustavo Alfaro, though, remained “hopeful” about his potential to have avoided a serious injury, as a key piece of the country’s hopes to make an impact in next Friday’s World Cup opener against the USMNT and further on in Group D against Türkiye and Australia. 

“Julio suffered two simultaneous injuries: a tight hamstring from impact and then on his waist, which affected his quadriceps area,” Alfaro said after the game. “He got scared, and that’s why he came off.”

“When he took the first hit, he signaled to me, and I told him to come off. He replied that it was loosening up, but then he took another blow to the waist, and that’s when he felt the injury.”

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Paraguay’s Lack of Goals

Julo Enciso appeared to be in intense pain early on against Nicaragua. | Christian Alvarenga/Getty Images

If Enciso is out for the World Cup opener against the USMNT or deeper on into the group stage, Paraguay could struggle to create moments of threat going forward.

The attacking midfielder has four goals in 31 caps, often against elite South American opponents, but hit form in France with 12 goals, after previously spending time in the English Premier League with Brighton & Hove Albion and Ipswich Town.

In the fall, Paraguay fell 2–1 in a friendly against the USMNT, while Enciso impressed in a wide battle down his wing against Max Arfsten. In the World Cup opener, that matchup would have likely set him up in a battle with Fulham’s Antonee Robinson.

Without him, La Albirroja will lean on the game-changing talent of Gustavo Caballero, whose speed has made him an X-factor within the national team. On loan with EFL Championship side Portsmouth in the second half of this season, the Santos forward scored one goal in 791 minutes, but did not participate in Friday’s friendly.

Outside of him, the veteran presence of Miguel Almirón could be needed, while standout defensive midfield talent Andrés Cubas may be relied upon to lock things down more than usual.

Paraguay will now head to the U.S. to complete final preparations ahead of the June 12 World Cup opener against the stars and stripes at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, then look ahead to their second match against Türkiye on June 19 at Levi’s Stadium near San Francisco.

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