United States equal best World Cup win – are they a team to be feared? | OneFootball

The United States couldn’t have dreamt of a much better start to their first World Cup campaign on home soil since reaching the round of 16 in 1994, over three decades ago.

They scored four goals in a World Cup game for the first time in their history, beating Paraguay 4-1 to equal the country’s highest winning margin set way back in 1930 in highly impressive opening game performance.

Damián Bobadilla’s own goal steered in Weston McKennie’s low cross to give the co-hosts lift off after just seven minutes, before a 19-minute brace from Folarin Balogun put the outstanding co-hosts in dreamland at half time.

Palmeiras midfielder Maurício would come off the bench to score his first ever international goal and put a small blemish on an otherwise perfect night for the co-hosts in Los Angeles, rounded off by Gio Reyna’s brilliant record-breaking strike in the 97th minute.

Following the nation’s best winning performance at the tournament since 1930, one central question arises from the jubilant scenes in Los Angeles: are the United States a team to be feared at the 2026 World Cup?

A record breaking night

USMNT hadn’t won a World Cup game by three goals since that memorable campaign in 1930, nor had one of their players scored a hat-trick since then.

Folarin Balogun likely had that echoing in his head before being substituted in the 71st minute. Likely to protect him from injury, it shows just how important of a role he will play in his country’s World Cup campaign.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side were ruthless and unforgiving, forcing high turnover after high turnover and playing with an energy unbeknownst to the home faithful for some time.

To put tonight’s victory further into context, the United States have already scored as many goals in one half of their opening game as they did in their whole 2022 campaign in Qatar.

Organizing into a back three of Tim Ream, Chris Richards, and inverted full-back Alex Freeman while in possession, this provided a solid base for their midfield and forward units to attack with such freedom and ultimately dismantle Paraguay’s defence.

No one took advantage of Pochettino’s modernized approach more than Christian Pulisic. The AC Milan winger put in an electric display, completing three of his five dribbles and creating two big chances – the South Americans simply had no answer.

Pulisic’s off the ball movement, combined with Weston McKennie and Balogun’s confidence carrying it forward, was harnessed to great effect as the US were 3-0 up at half time.

Pochettino’s modernizing influence on United States

Max Anderson-Parrot, Analytical football journalist

Joint hosts of the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1994, USMNT find themselves in a stronger yet equally perilous position.

America being announced to the world as hosts in 1988 was widely unpopular. The country didn’t have a single professional-level outdoor league, and the inaugural Major League Soccer campaign would arrive two years after the tournament.

This time, USMNT now possesses an elite tactician whom they hope will bring success.

Under his predecessor Gregg Berhalter, the US’ way of approaching football was possession-based, positional play. Between him and his predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann, they went from averaging 40% to 53% possession.

Berhalter shifted the team from a rigid 4-3-3 formation to a highly dynamic 3-4-3 diamond in possession. This change saw the team rise by 17% in controlled possession and a 22% drop in goals conceded.

So when Pochettino was appointed in September of 2024, he inherited a philosophy and a squad that had grown accustomed to positional play, numerical overloads and structural pressing.

Instead of abandoning this framework, Pochettino built upon it and injected a South American fluidity and verticality that the team had previously been lacking.

This was on full show against Paraguay, with Weston McKennie having the confidence to make daring runs through the middle and combining well with Christian Pulisic and Sergino Dest’s off the ball movement in the channels.

Pulisic, America’s unofficial flagbearer to the footballing world, is the team’s primary creative spark. Rather than hugging the touchline, he has often drifted inside to occupy the left half-space, operating as an advanced playmaker.

The deliberate positional chaos is in fact a core feature of Pochettino’s play. By continuously rotating positions, the USMNT unbalances defensive structures, forcing the opposition into split-second tracking decisions that can dismantle them.

Historically, the US survived crunch moments in matches because legendary goalkeepers like Tim Howard, formerly of Everton, and Kasey Keller bailed them out when the system broke down.

Although Paraguay were very poor, Matt Freese had very little to do and will be frustrated to have conceded a goal late on in the tie with the Americans well beyond their opponents’ reach.

With the intensity of pressing and hunger to win the ball back that the US had on display tonight, in addition to their combinations of passing and fine finishing, may end up catching out one of the big guns should they lose focus.

United States “managed the expectation and pressure”

Just after the action came to a close, the former Tottenham and Southampton manager was understandably delighted with his team’s record-breaking performance, reflecting on the night that he and his team had been looking forward to.

For all the pressure that being co-hosts of the World Cup brings, the Argentinian believed that they handled it expertly.

He said: “[I’m] so, so proud. Players and staff deserved big credit for this performance.

“We are so happy because the first game is always so difficult, hosting the World Cup, the expectation but we managed the expectation and pressure. The first 45 minutes were amazing, difficult to find a team to play like this. So happy and so proud.

“The most important is the performance and the feeling. We know it is only the start and it is nothing. It is only one game. Now we need to be intelligent to keep [going] in that direction.”

Pochettino has got the side whose country was once criticized for being chosen to host the tournament at a time when it lacked a professional outdoor league playing at a level that could see them safely into the round of 32 and beyond.

Are the United States now a team that others should be worried about? Let us know in the comments. For more detailed reports, reaction, and analysis of the World Cup as it happens, head to our website and favourite our page on OneFootball.