7M - United States 4-1 Paraguay: Mauricio Pochettino's side launch World Cup campaign with dominant victory as Folarin Balogun nets first-half brace

The United States enjoyed an ideal opening to their 2026 World Cup journey, cruising past Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium. Folarin Balogun emerged as the standout performer for the co-hosts, scoring twice to help anchor a comprehensive 4-1 victory in their tournament opener.

Mauricio Pochettino's men broke the deadlock after just seven minutes. Christian Pulisic split two defenders during a driving build-up, and Damian Bobadilla accidentally deflected Weston McKennie's subsequent cutback into his own net. The early goal at 6:48 marked the third fastest ever scored by a host nation in their World Cup opener, behind only France in 1938 and Germany in 2006.

The relentless American attack kept pressing. After seeing an initial effort disallowed for offside, Balogun found his breakthrough in the 31st minute by driving a low shot into the bottom corner from a deflected Pulisic pass. Just before the interval, Malik Tillman threaded a precise pass behind the defense, allowing Balogun to shrug off Omar Alderete's sliding challenge and lift the ball into the top corner. This marked the first time the United States led by three goals at halftime in a World Cup fixture. Furthermore, Balogun became only the second American player to net multiple goals in a single World Cup match, following Bert Patenaude's hat-trick against Paraguay back in 1930.

The first-half lineup also featured a notable blend of youth and experience. Tim Ream made history as the oldest player to feature for the USMNT in the competition at 38 years and 250 days old, while the team also named a player from each of Europe's top five major leagues in their World Cup starting eleven for the first time.

The tempo slowed during the second half, and Paraguay managed to pull one back in the 73rd minute when substitute Mauricio struck a first-time shot past Matt Freese following a lay-off from Julio Enciso. However, Giovanni Reyna sealed the statement win eight minutes into stoppage time with a spectacular trivela finish, capping off a dominant display where the United States comfortably outproduced Paraguay in expected goals by a margin of 1.35 to 0.47.