Fans took aim at FIFA as the United States’ World Cup opening ceremony appeared to take place in front of a ‘half empty’ stadium in Los Angeles.The USMNT kick off their tournament on home soil against Paraguay on Friday, after concern over ticket sales and high costs that threatened to ‘price out’ many Americans.The US opening ceremony took place in front of empty seats in Los AngelesBefore Mauricio Pochettino’s team took to the field, an opening ceremony marked the first World Cup game in the United States for 32 years.However, many fans had yet to take their seats inside SoFi Stadium, meaning the show took place in front of ‘half empty’ stands.Fans fume over US opening ceremony in fresh blow to FIFAThose watching from home quickly noticed the small audience, and took to social media to share their disappointment.Some even compared the pregame festivities to those seen last night, when Mexico kicked off the World Cup with a dramatic win over South Africa in front of a boisterous crowd.“The stadium is so empty for the USA opening ceremony,” one wrote on X.“Difference between the opening ceremonies in Mexico and the USA: One had packed stands, noise, passion, and an atmosphere that felt like the World Cup. The other had noticeable empty seats… not a good look at all,” another said.“Stadium half empty for opening ceremonies,” a third wrote, sharing a video from inside the facility.“It’s so f***ing empty! Lame as f***!” a fourth concluded.Who performed at the US opening ceremony in Los Angeles?Despite plenty of empty seats, the ceremony went ahead as scheduled around 70 minutes ahead of kick-off, and featured some serious star power.Future and Tyla performed their summer anthem, Game Time, before making way for Lisa, Rema and Anitta, who performed their song Goals.A star-studded cast was in Los Angeles to perform the opening ceremonyAFPSome fans complained the stadium was ‘half empty’ for the showGettyThe concert was quite the spectacle, with a massive World Cup trophy standing on the stage at the center of the field.Global pop superstar Katy Perry then took the spotlight, and performed closer to kick off, as the stadium finally started to fill up.The two teams had time to cram in a warm-up between the festivities, and USMNT defender Tim Ream revealed he ‘expected to see a full stadium’ by kick off.“We expect to see a full stadium, an incredible crowd, an incredible atmosphere and an opening ceremony for us that will be the culmination of a lot of hard work and decisions that we have made to get to this point,” he said.The US kicked off their tournament amid criticism around the cost of match tickets, and FIFA’s decision to impliment dynamic pricing for the first time at a World Cup. Hundreds of tickets were available for the team’s opener in Los Angeles in the days leading up. Seats were still to be filled in the minutes leading up to kick offGettyPopstar Perry capped the opening ceremony ahead of kick offGettyView Tweet: https://t.co/IqvddrQfkpLarry Agran, Mayor of Irvine — where the USMNT have their World Cup base — told talkSPORT this week that he was fearful of Americans being priced out of attending games. “I’m very concerned about that,” he told Ben Jacobs of FIFA’s dynamic ticket pricing.“Thank goodness for TV. People of course can participate by watching television, but it concerns me that the pricing of thesethings prices out 90 percent of Americans.“It’s very troubling for me.Coming to AmericaUSA has a golden opportunity to impress global football fans — don’t screw up the World CupHow the 1994 World Cup changed soccer in USA – from tourists in Italy to better than England and MLSRanking the World Cup venues – from New York to Los Angeles, a string of spectacular venues will play host to the 2026 World CupThe $9bn pitch built for Ronaldo’s last World Cup – ‘Forever’ grass, artificial sunlight and closed roofChris Richards Exclusive – the Crystal Palace defender opens up on his journey to the top, next stop a home World Cup for the kid from Birmingham, Alabama“That’s a bigger problem than I’m able to tackle by myself here in the city of Irvine.” Stay up to date on all things USMNT across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.