The United States kicked off their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, claiming an impressive 4-1 victory in their opening Group D encounter.
American fans had to wait only seven minutes to celebrate the opening goal. A skillful move by Christian Pulisic set up Weston McKennie, whose cross deflected off Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla and into the net, resulting in the tournament’s first own goal.
The United States thought they had doubled their advantage in the 28th minute when Antonee Robinson found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside. However, the hosts did not have to wait long for a second. In the 31st minute, Pulisic delivered a precise pass to Folarin Balogun, who calmly finished to make it 2-0.
Balogun continued to trouble Paraguay’s defense throughout the first half and struck again in first-half stoppage time (45+5), showing excellent awareness to score his second goal of the match and extend the lead to 3-0.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side maintained their attacking intensity after the break, but Paraguay gradually improved following a disappointing first-half display. Their efforts were rewarded in the 73rd minute when Mauricio pulled one goal back. Nevertheless, the strike proved to be only a consolation as the United States comfortably secured all three points.
Giovanni Reyna put the result beyond any doubt in the eighth minute of stoppage time, producing a brilliant outside-of-the-foot strike to add the finishing touch to the hosts’ commanding performance.
The other teams in Group D, Australia and Türkiye, are set to face each other in Vancouver on Saturday.
