The United States had a dream start to their World Cup 2026 campaign by clinching a dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday, thanks to the first-half brace by striker Folarin Balogun.
“Amazing ‌result,” US captain Tim Ream said. “It’s exactly the way we wanted to start the tournament.”
In the Group D match, USA made a dream start against Paraguay, taking the lead in just the seventh minute. Christian Pulisic dribbled past two defenders before finding Weston McKennie, whose cross was accidentally turned into the net by Paraguay midfielder Damian Bobadilla for an own goal.
A little later, shortly after the first-half cooling break, Pulisic once again created danger down the left wing. He delivered a perfect cross to Folarin Balogun, who calmly guided his shot past goalkeeper Orlando Gill to make it 2-0.
Balogun added his second goal just before halftime. He collected a long pass, shrugged off a sliding challenge, beat two more defenders and blasted a left-footed strike into the top corner, completing an outstanding first half for the hosts.
Pulisic was surprisingly taken off at the start of the second half.
Paraguay showed more urgency after the break and finally pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute. Substitute Mauricio capitalised on a defensive mistake by the US to reduce the deficit.
However, the Americans remained in control. In the closing moments, Gio Reyna capped off the performance with a brilliant finish from the edge of the box using the outside of his right foot.
“The opposition were better than us,” Paraguay defender Junior Alonso admitted after the match.
“We managed to play higher up the pitch in the second half, but there are still many things we need to improve. We have two matches left, and we must learn from our mistakes. There’s no point dwelling on them — we need to improve and put in a better performance next time.”
U.S. defender Tim Ream said the team would look to build on the strong start.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling,” Ream said. “You always want to begin a tournament well. Scoring four goals and getting three points is a great way to start and gives us confidence for the rest of the group stage.”
The match was played at Los Angeles Stadium under its massive roof and attracted several famous faces, including actor Tom Cruise and former England captain David Beckham, who had received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame earlier in the day.
Despite concerns before the tournament about expensive ticket prices, the stadium was completely sold out. The venue, home to the NFL’s Rams and Chargers and the site of next year’s Super Bowl, hosted more than 70,000 fans.
The United States will next face Australia in Seattle on June 19, while Paraguay take on Turkey in San Francisco.
