USA make World Cup history on "dreamy night" | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Maybe it was the early own goal in their favor, a ball caroming off Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla after an incisive attacking move barely seven minutes in, that signaled to the US men’s national team that Friday would be their night.

Or perhaps, mused Weston McKennie as he later spoke to reporters in a crowded postgame mixed zone, it was the classy brace Folarin Balogun bagged just before halftime to run the score to 3-0, a backbreaking blow to a disconsolate Albirroja side on the second night of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Really, though, it was what the USMNT midfielder said next that underlined precisely what this rousing 4-1 rout in front of 70,492 appreciative fans at Los Angeles Stadium meant for this team and the nation they represent.

“Whenever we walked out and heard the national anthem, and seeing the crowd and people singing along, I think that as a moment, I got goosebumps,” said the FC Dallas academy product after Friday's Group D opener. “It just felt special.

“It's hard to describe unless you're just there in that moment – the accumulation of all the work that your team puts in, and all the guys, all the paths that they took to be here in this moment together. I think that was the turning point for us.”

Historic display

Even the most optimistic USMNT supporter wearing the rosiest red-white-and-blue glasses might have hesitated to predict the Yanks’ World Cup opener unfolding like this.

This was easily one of the most dominant performances in program history on a stage of this magnitude. The United States produced their first-ever four-goal performance in a World Cup game, while tying their largest margin of victory at the tournament.

The hosts set the tone and bossed possession, tormenting Paraguay with their tigerish press, flashing flair and skill on the ball in front of a huge crowd at a gleaming, NFL-sized venue where the cameras kept finding one Hollywood star after another.

“Surreal,” said Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, whose father Gregg, a USMNT World Cup veteran as both a player and coach, was among those in attendance for his Mundial debut.

“That's what US soccer should be. Walking around and just seeing almost 70,000 US fans just going crazy, and even getting them going, getting them fired up – it was so cool just to be on the field during that.”

First step of many

Berhalter came off the bench after halftime to help buttress the midfield and manage the lead, taking the place of Christian Pulisic, a precautionary substitution after the star winger took a hard kick to the calf that doesn't appear to be particularly severe.

That was the closest thing to bad news for the Yanks, so it fell to head coach Mauricio Pochettino to pump the brakes and remind his group just how high they’re aiming this summer.

“It’s clear that everything worked out very well for us tonight,” said ‘Poch’ in Spanish.

“Sometimes in soccer it’s not just about the game plan. Sometimes you have a better night than your opponent. But you have to respect Paraguay because they’re a great team, and this is just one game. Four years ago, Argentina began with a loss to Saudi Arabia and ended up winning the World Cup.

“That’s why it’s not just how you start, but also how you navigate the tournament. And most important is how you finish.”

Why not us?

USMNT fans have a habit of living and dying from result to result, their confidence alternately soaring and plunging. Pochettino has noted this tendency in the past, and has ample reason to keep his side on an even keel as focus shifts towards their second Group D test on June 19 against a ruggedly physical Australia in Seattle.

Yet the players couldn't help but confirm what was obvious to everyone watching: They found a serendipitous flow state in that irresistible first half, and if they can summon it again, maybe they really can shock the world this summer.

“It's important to take each game at a time,” said Balogun. “But of course, Poch has said many times, ‘Why not us?’ We have to believe; you can't do anything if you don't believe in yourself. So a 4-1 against a tough Paraguay side, we’ll look to recover and rest for the next game.

“Three goals in the first half of the opening game, I felt like it was a real statement, and that's what we wanted to do,” he added. “It's a dreamy night, you know?”