World Cup 2026: Hùng Dũng and Coach Phạm Minh Đức support host nation USA

The 2026 World Cup has officially kicked off. It presents an opportunity for the co-hosts, the USA and Canada, to demonstrate their power and meticulous readiness for the greatest football celebration worldwide.

Both Coach Phạm Minh Đức and midfielder Đỗ Hùng Dũng express their support for the team led by Coach Pochettino. "The US team has been preparing very thoroughly over the past long period. This is also a team with many players competing in top European leagues such as Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Timothy Weah (Marseille), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan)... Another characteristic is that the key players of the US team are all at their career peaks, born between 1998 and 2002. Therefore, Hùng Dũng personally rates the US team higher and believes they can defeat Paraguay to gain an advantage for the subsequent matches," Hùng Dũng backed the US team in the opening match.

Coach Phạm Minh Đức also supports the US team: "Personally, although I think this match will have many surprises, I still hope the US team can win. They have been preparing for a long time. In two pre-World Cup friendlies, they defeated Senegal 3-2. In their latest match, they only lost 1-2 to Germany. Coach Pochettino is also a charismatic coach who has led several European clubs."

Regarding the match between Bosnia & Herzegovina and host Canada, I personally see this as an evenly matched game. However, I rate Bosnia higher. Being a European team, their tactics, playing style, and ball distribution will be more scientific and coherent.

Nevertheless, Canada cannot be underestimated. Their biggest stars may have passed their prime, but as hosts, they will play with great determination on opening day. The result could be a one-goal margin for Bosnia. However, football always has surprises. If Canada scores first, they will be the winners."

Contrary to Coach Phạm Minh Đức, Hùng Dũng chooses host Canada: "I personally support the host nation Canada. They will have more thorough preparation and the advantage of home crowd support. Canada also has players competing in Europe, the English Premier League, and Italy such as Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan, Tani Oluwaseyi, Nathan Saliba, and Ismael Koné…

In recent times, Canadian football has also developed well. In their last five friendlies, they won two and drew three. It can be said that Canada will be an unpredictable factor in this group. The home advantage and support from local fans are things Canada will maximize to dominate opponents. They need to take advantage of matches against evenly matched rivals to build a points advantage and advance to the next round," Hùng Dũng shared about the Canadian team.

Both host teams, the USA and Canada, will respectively face Paraguay and Bosnia & Herzegovina in the opening matches of the 2026 World Cup. Canada is in a group with Switzerland, Qatar, and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Meanwhile, the US team is in Group D with Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey. Apart from Turkey, which is rated higher, both Australia and Paraguay are opponents from whom the US team can earn points.