Friday night, the USA Men’s National Team played its 2026 World Cup opener against Paraguay in Los Angeles. For fans who couldn’t make it to the game in LA, there were plenty of watch party options in the Bay Area. One of the largest watch parties happened at the Thrive City plaza outside Chase Center in San Francisco, where an official Bay Area Host Committee free watch party drew in around 2,500 people. The event was kicked off with a Team USA fan march to the plaza, led by former US Women’s National Team player and Bay FC co-founder Leslie Osborne. “Goosebumps,” Osborne said, describing the energy at the event. “Like, absolutely amazing, the parade here was amazing, and to walk up into this atmosphere, it was electric.” People of all ages stood and sat shoulder to shoulder across the plaza to watch the game. The crowd was definitely skewed towards Team USA fans, but throughout, there were people wearing jerseys representing a variety of countries. Each time USA scored, cheers would echo across the plaza. The USA fans were delighted to wind up with a 4 to 1 win over Paraguay. This particular World Cup feels special for many local fans, in part because Santa Clara will host matches and also because it’s the first time the U.S. is hosting World Cup matches since 1994. Joel Fossourier of San Francisco brought his son to this watch party. “It’s 32 years since I went to the games in ’94, so I wanted him to experience it as well,” Fossourier said. People from around the Bay attended the watch party, as did many international travelers. NBC Bay Area crews spoke with travelers visiting from Brazil, Switzerland, Ireland, and England. “It’s cool, it’s cool, it’s where you want to be isn’t it?” said Robbie Quinn, who was visiting from Liverpool, England. Quinn, who is staying with family, is still hoping to find a last-minute deal on tickets to a World Cup match. ...read more read less