LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Team USA kicks off its 2026 FIFA World Cup tonight, facing Paraguay in its opening match at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Las Vegas is not a host city, but officials expect crowds to gather at sportsbooks and watch parties. A top State Department official said the same global security effort is working in the background for those events.
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The U.S. has spent more than a year preparing with the White House, FIFA and other agencies. Officials have tightened visa screening for visitors and poured more than a billion dollars into security and counter-drone measures in the 11 host cities.
The State Department urges travelers planning to attend matches in Mexico or Canada to check travel.state.gov for country and state-specific advisories.
“Some locations like Mexico, for instance, where we have travel advisories that are specific to different states. So if you’re going to the game, for example, in Guadalajara, you’ll also want to know the travel advisory for the state of Jalisco. And that’s a very different travel advisory than the one in Guadalajara, which means there may be different risk, different threats to American citizens, and you want to be aware of all of those,” said Mignon Houston, deputy spokesperson.
Travelers can also enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program for real-time alerts while abroad.
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