USA Cruises to 4-1 Victory Over Paraguay Behind Balogun's First Brace of the Tournament

In the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup held in the United States, co-host USA comfortably defeated Paraguay to get their tournament off to a flying start.

The U.S. men's national soccer team, led by head coach Mauricio Pochettino, secured a resounding 4-1 victory over Paraguay in their opening Group D match of the group stage today at Los Angeles (LA) Stadium in California, USA. The win was powered by an opponent's own goal, Folarin Balogun's brace—the first of the tournament—and a late sealer from Giovanni Reyna.

The match between the U.S. and Paraguay was the first game of the tournament to be played in the United States, which is co-hosting the event alongside Mexico and Canada.

Prior to the match, the tournament's third opening ceremony took place, featuring a performance by Lisa of the girl group BLACKPINK, among others.

With Mexico having defeated South Africa 2-0 in Group A the previous day, and Canada drawing 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group B earlier in the day, the U.S. victory ensured that all co-hosts finished their opening matches undefeated.

This marks only the second time the U.S. and Paraguay have faced each other on the World Cup stage.

The rematch comes 96 years after their group stage meeting in the inaugural 1930 tournament in Uruguay.

In that historic encounter, the U.S. won 3-0, featuring the first-ever hat-trick in World Cup history by Bert Patenaude.

The deadlock in today's match was broken early on.

In the 7th minute of the first half, Christian Pulisic used his individual skill to beat two defenders and penetrate the left side of the penalty box before passing to Weston McKennie. McKennie's subsequent cross into the center deflected off Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla and into the net for an own goal.

It was the first own goal of the tournament.

Following the goal, the U.S. continued their onslaught, relentlessly targeting Paraguay's defense primarily down the left flank anchored by Pulisic.

In the 28th minute of the first half, shortly after a hydration break, Balogun scored with a left-footed shot from the left side of the goal area, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

However, Balogun quickly shook off the disappointment just three minutes later.

In the 31st minute of the first half, Pulisic got behind the defense and delivered a cutback pass from the left side of the penalty area. Balogun rushed toward the center of the goal and finished it with his right foot to finally find the back of the net.

In the 50th minute of the first half during stoppage time, Balogun received a pass from Malik Tillman, won a physical battle, beat another defender, and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from the center of the penalty area to further widen the gap.

The U.S. substituted Christian Pulisic out for Sebastian Berhalter at the start of the second half.

Paraguay replaced Bobadilla, who scored the own goal, with Maurício, which briefly seemed to shift the momentum.

However, the U.S. quickly regained control of the match with intense pressing.

Paraguay finally managed to get on the scoresheet in the 28th minute of the second half. Following an attack initiated by a long kick from their goalkeeper, Maurício received a pass from Julio César Enciso and fired a left-footed shot from the left side of the goal area to pull one back.

However, they were unable to breach the U.S. goal any further.

Instead, the U.S. exploited the space left open by Paraguay's advancing defense, creating several threatening opportunities.

The U.S. sealed the victory in the 53rd minute of the second half with a goal from Reyna.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.