U.S. Led by 'Son Heung-min's Mentor' Pochettino Secures Opening Match Victory

[Anchor]

The United States, a co-host of the tournament led by manager Mauricio Pochettino—known as the mentor of Son Heung-min—showed its strength with a resounding victory over Paraguay. Meanwhile, Canada, another co-host, started its campaign with a draw.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the story.

[Reporter]

At the opening ceremony held in Los Angeles, Lisa of the world-famous K-pop girl group BLACKPINK took the stage and electrified a crowd of 70,000. The match that followed was just as passionate.

The U.S. took the lead just seven minutes into the game following an own goal by the opponent.

Even after taking the lead, the U.S. kept up the pressure, with striker Folarin Balogun leading the charge against Paraguay, a team that boasted the second-fewest goals conceded in the South American World Cup qualifiers.

In the 31st minute, Balogun received a pass from Christian Pulisic to score his debut World Cup goal. Just before halftime, he outmuscled the opposing defense and fired a powerful left-footed shot into the net, sending the home fans into a frenzy.

Balogun became the first player to score multiple goals in this tournament.

With victory already in sight, the U.S. did not stop its offensive even in second-half stoppage time. Giovanni Reyna added a spectacular final goal to seal a 4-1 victory in the opening match, giving manager Pochettino his first win in his World Cup debut.

[Mauricio Pochettino / U.S. National Soccer Team Manager: The performance was excellent, and the players fought really well. We are very happy. But this is just the beginning.]

Canada, another co-host competing in Group B, drew 1-1 with Bosnia.

Canada fell behind early but managed to secure a precious equalizer in the 78th minute, just two minutes after striker Cyle Larin was subbed onto the pitch. This marked Canada's first point in seven matches across its three World Cup appearances.

(Video Editing: Park Jeong-sam)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.