All the madness you missed in USA v Paraguay 🤩 | OneFootball

The United States won their first World Cup match in Los Angeles with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Paraguay, who only managed a few shots in the second half. The rest of the game turned into a real American showcase, including a Bobadilla own goal after a superb move by Pulisic (7'), a Balogun brace (31' and 45'+5), and a goal from G. Reyna (90'+8).

Paraguay’s only goal came from Mauricio (73'), but now let’s take a look at everything you probably missed from the American night.

📲 Everyone at SoFi Stadium... except Trump, who calls Pochettino

At SoFi Stadium, the parade of stars started in the stands: Tom Cruise, David Beckham, George Lucas (creator of Star Wars), Paris Hilton, and many more. Donald Trump, who stayed in Washington, was absent and represented instead by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The American president still made sure to show his support for the team by calling Pochettino and the whole squad: “You have a great chance of going all the way,” he said, in a ritual call for which captain Tim Ream did not seem particularly engaged.

😭 When Henry and Ibra saw Speed

On its pre-match show, Fox Sports featured Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry, which quickly led to a funny moment after a comment from Alexi Lalas, the former American player.

The pundit spots someone and says: “What do you call him? A real moron”, which in American usage means “a complete idiot,” but in standard English sounds more like “a total imbecile.” Henry’s face says it all. Titi really is a meme machine, no doubt about it! 

The two former stars had already put on a show with their technique on the pre-match set.

But above all, the two players delighted fans with Speed, the famous American streamer, who couldn’t resist reminding everyone of his love for CR7: “Portugal are going to win the World Cup,” he told Fox Sports, before being interrupted by Ibrahimovic and Henry, who showed no mercy! 

🤣 Speed the next FIFA president?

The same Speed, streaming throughout the entire match, also chatted with Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president. Who offered him his job for a few minutes!

🚔 The most pathetic pitch invasion attempt in the world

We often see successful pitch invasions on screen. Rarely the failed ones, because by definition they stay in the stands. An American fan tried last night to have his moment of glory by running onto the pitch, but he couldn’t get past security, who were waiting for him. No idea what he was expecting when he jumped, with the least surprising fake-out in the world! 

🗽 A perfect night and a historic brace for Balogun

Folarin Balogun’s brace, along with a disallowed goal, made American history: he became the first U.S. player to score twice in a World Cup match since Bert Patenaude on July 17, 1930, in the very first World Cup in history. A nice historical wink: both braces were scored against Paraguay.  

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 PATRICK T. FALLON - AFP or licensors