Thousands of tickets remain unsold for the United States’ high-priced World Cup opener, with data captured by The Athletic and other sources suggesting that the game is not on pace to sell out at current prices and purchasing rates.As of Thursday evening, two weeks before the 2026 World Cup begins, there were more than 3,500 tickets available on FIFA’s primary portal for the June 12 match between the U.S. and Paraguay.There were also over 6,500 tickets listed on FIFA’s resale platform, meaning there are over 10,000 tickets available for the match, which was initially billed as one of the tournament’s most attractive games.The 6,500 (and many more listed on third-party resale sites) are tickets that have been sold or distributed, either to fans or scalpers, but are now being offered to prospective buyers. It’s unclear how many would be used if they don’t re-sell.The 3,500, on the other hand, have not been sold, and there could be even more not yet listed for sale. FIFA has held back tickets throughout the sales process, and does not publicly reveal sales or availability data.Throughout the month of May, there have seemingly been more tickets added by FIFA to the portal than sold for the U.S. curtain-raiser at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles.Exact numbers are difficult to gauge, but according to inventory trackers, plus data observed and logged by The Athletic, the tickets seemed to be selling at a rate of a few dozen per day.Meanwhile, many of the tickets available on FIFA’s resale platform and third-party sites are listed for less than FIFA’s primary prices, and some for less than half of FIFA’s prices — even after fees and taxes are taken into account.The dipping market rate has raised questions about how FIFA plans to fill the stadium, which will hold around 69,650 people for World Cup matches.FIFA has been selling tickets to the U.S. opener for $2,735 in Category 1, $1940 in Category 2 and $1,120 in Category 3 ever since sales began last October. And the global soccer governing body — which has been roundly criticized (and now investigated) for its ticketing practices — has not budged from those price points even as sales lagged behind expectations.The Athletic reported last month that sales for U.S.-Paraguay were also lagging behind other matches at SoFi Stadium. A document dated April 10 and distributed to local organizers listed 40,934 tickets purchased for the U.S. match, compared with 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand game three days later at the same venue.The USA’s World Cup opener will be a rematch of a November friendly that the Americans won on this Folarin Balogun goal (Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)It was unclear if the numbers included hospitality and other types of tickets that weren’t sold to the general public. FIFA, when asked to clarify, declined to provide that context. In a statement, a FIFA spokesperson said at the time that “it would be misleading and irresponsible to publish [the sales] figures as fact,” but did not say why.The figures added to extensive evidence of slow sales for that match, and the body of evidence has only grown since.