Gómez, Sosa and Bodadilla feature as Paraguay lose friendly | OneFootball

The United States reached four matches unbeaten this Saturday, defeating Paraguay 2-1 in a friendly held in Chester, Pennsylvania, with an eye on the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in North America.

The Paraguayans featured important players from São Paulo teams. Center-back Gustavo Gómez (Palmeiras) and midfielder Bobadilla (São Paulo) started the match. Another Palmeiras player, forward Sosa, came on in the second half.

Reyna returns and scores; Balogun seals the win

Gio Reyna, returning to the U.S. national team for the first time since March, opened the scoring at 4 minutes, and Folarin Balogun secured the victory at 71.

“(Gio) scored and we are very happy with him, he showed why he was a starter and should keep improving,” said U.S. coach, Argentine Mauricio Pochettino. Reyna was playing his first match as a starter since July 1, 2024, against Uruguay in the group stage of the Copa América.

Paraguay responds and returns to the world stage

Paraguay temporarily equalized at 8 minutes, with a goal from Alex Arce after an assist from Miguel Almirón. The Albirroja will return to a World Cup in 2026, after 16 years of absence, since South Africa 2010.

Balogun, 24 years old and currently playing for AS Monaco, finished an excellent triangle play to guarantee the home team's victory.

Pochettino values the team's performance and spirit

“I think we played a great match, very complicated,” emphasized Pochettino. “It's always good to win, but the most important thing is the commitment and the way of playing, we need to give credit to the players.”

“We talked with the players about how they are feeling the football we want,” added the U.S. national team coach.

The United States will be co-hosts of the World Cup next June and July, alongside Canada and Mexico.

“We have an atmosphere and a spirit that we need to feel as we look toward the World Cup,” concluded Pochettino.

Scuffle at the end and upcoming fixtures

In stoppage time, there was a scuffle off the field that resulted in a red card for Paraguayan Omar Alderete.

“It was hard to see what was happening, when I got there I ended up falling next to the camera and, luckily, Gustavo Alfaro (Paraguay's coach) saw me and helped me. I don't like this kind of situation,” explained Pochettino.

With this result, the United States reached their fifth win against Paraguay, an opponent against whom they also have two losses and two draws.

Both teams will return to the field on Tuesday, in the last FIFA Date of 2025: the United States face Uruguay in Tampa Bay, Florida, while Paraguay take on Mexico in San Antonio, Texas.

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