The United States are cementing their status as true contenders in this World Cup. In Los Angeles, Mauricio Pochettino’s squad delivered a flawless first-half display to overpower Paraguay 4-1.
Securing an early lead on the scoreboard, the US successfully launched their home World Cup campaign by dismantling Paraguay 4-1. Folarin Balogun took center stage, netting a crucial brace.
Admittedly, the United States faced considerable pressure heading into this tournament on home turf. Mauricio Pochettino had framed it as a defining moment for his roster, successfully generating significant hype around his players. Inside a not quite sold-out SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the Americans kicked off their campaign against Paraguay—a highly motivated side celebrating their first World Cup appearance since 2010.
Unfortunately for the South Americans, they were thoroughly outclassed from the start, quickly overwhelmed by vastly superior opponents driven by an exceptional Folarin Balogun, who registered the first brace of this 2026 World Cup. The lone striker in Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 formation could have scored even earlier, squandering a prime opportunity in just the 3rd minute. Ultimately, it was Paraguayan midfielder Damian Bobadilla who gifted Team USA the opening breakthrough with an own goal (1-0, 7th).
This ignited a lengthy ordeal for the Albirroja. Balogun continued to terrorize the defense, seeing a goal disallowed for an offside earlier in the buildup (28th). Undeterred, the Monaco forward exercised patience on the very next sequence, exploiting open space from a Christian Pulisic assist (2-0, 31st) before calmly finishing with his right foot. He struck again just before the halftime whistle, blasting a powerful left-footed shot into the top corner (3-0, 45th+5).
With a commanding cushion at the break, the Americans managed the tempo against a thoroughly dominated Paraguayan side, though the visitors managed to pull one back through substitute Mauricio (3-1, 73rd). However, it was far too late for Gustavo Alfaro’s men, whose frustration boiled over late in the match (picking up 3 bookings in the final minutes, 5 overall). Their misery was compounded by a final outside-of-the-boot strike from Gio Reyna (4-1, 90th+8), who had entered the pitch fifteen minutes prior. The Stars and Stripes have started their World Cup at full throttle, taking command of Group D before matching up against Australia on June 19 and Turkey on June 26.