USA send World Cup statement with opening win vs. Paraguay

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Major League Soccer

·13. Juni 2026

USA send World Cup statement with opening win vs. Paraguay

By Jonathan Sigal

The United States delivered a resounding 4-1 victory over Paraguay to open their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign on Friday evening, sending a statement in Group D's opening match at Los Angeles Stadium.

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The tournament co-hosts soared to a 3-0 halftime lead behind Folarin Balogun's brace and an early Paraguay own goal forced by combination play from Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie.

Then, Giovanni Reyna's outside-the-foot strike deep into second-half stoppage time gave the USMNT their most-ever goals (four) in a World Cup match.

The USMNT's only blemish came in the 73rd minute when Maurício pulled one back for Paraguay, who are playing at their first World Cup since 2010.

The US, hosting their first World Cup game since the 1994 tournament, played before a sell-out crowd of 70,492 fans. They'll next visit Seattle on June 19 to face Australia, hoping to secure a Round of 32 spot with another victory.

Goals

7' - USA - Damián Bobadilla (OG) | WATCH
31' - USA - Folarin Balogun | WATCH
45+5' - USA - Folarin Balogun | WATCH
73' - PRY - Maurício | WATCH
90+8' - USA - Giovanni Reyna | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: At risk of sounding hyperbolic, the USMNT put together arguably the program's best-ever half at a World Cup. Then, they saw out the match to take the Group D lead. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino's side capitalized on home-field advantage and has one foot in the knockout rounds.