On Friday, June 13, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to Los Angeles — not just to watch Katy Perry and Future perform at SoFi Stadium. His presence at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Cup and the USA-Paraguay match is part of a diplomatic initiative that the Trump administration has carefully wrapped in a football package.

A delegation that speaks volumes

Rubio is leading the official U.S. delegation at the opening ceremony. With him are Transport Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Mullin's presence is particularly telling: his department signed a memorandum of cooperation with Paraguay on migration control before the tournament began. At a State Department ceremony, Rubio directly called illegal migration a "threat to national security" for both countries.

A meeting with Paraguay's President Santiago Peña on the sidelines of the World Cup is already the second one for Secretary Rubio. The first took place in Washington at a regional security conference. They discussed the investment climate for American business and the fight against narco-terrorism.

Why Paraguay specifically

Paraguay is the only South American country that maintains official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, doing so despite systematic pressure from Beijing. According to the State Department, Asunción remains one of 12 governments in the world that still recognize Taipei — making it a valuable partner in the strategic triangle of the USA-China-Latin America.

"This is another example of cooperation and the ability to work together for shared values"

Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State — at the signing of the memorandum with Paraguay

President Peña, in turn, is actively increasing his presence in the United States: since taking office in August 2023, he has already visited the country several times, including speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2025.

The 2026 World Cup as a soft power tool

The Trump administration faces a paradox: a tournament that will attract millions of foreign fans is taking place against the backdrop of the harshest migration rhetoric in years. Rubio assured in the spring that ICE would not "sweep" stadiums — but Mullin refrained from such guarantees, limiting himself to a phrase about "the safety of all visitors." The presence of both at the opening ceremony is an attempt to send a signal simultaneously at home and abroad: we are the hosts of this tournament, we control the situation.

• The opening ceremony at SoFi Stadium will begin at 7:30 p.m. local time; performances by Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, and LISA.
• USA-Paraguay match — the first game of Group D, which also includes Turkey and Australia.
• The migration memorandum between the USA and Paraguay was signed earlier this year with the participation of Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar.

Analysts from West Asia Watch note that the 2026 World Cup is a "critical moment of public diplomacy" for Washington at a time when global trust in American leadership is a matter of dispute. If the Trump administration manages to hold the tournament without incidents involving fan arrests or restrictions on team access, it will indeed become an argument in favor of "soft power." If not, the effect will be the opposite.

The key question in the coming weeks: will Rubio and Peña sign something concrete in Los Angeles — or will the meeting remain another "confirmation of strategic partnership" without a mechanism for implementation.