The 6 biggest World Cup opening wins by host nations after USA thrash Paraguay | OneFootball

There’s nothing quite like World Cup fever, not least if you’re a host nation dreaming of going further than usual in the competition.

Soccer spirits will be high in the USA right now after the 2026 co-hosts won their opening group game, after Mexico also won on home turf and Canada drew.

But which hosts have made the best first impressions over the years at the World Cup?

These are the five biggest opening-game wins by World Cup hosts – with USA being on the receiving end of one of the drubbings long before enjoying their own…

1. Italy 7-1 USA (1934)

You have to go all the way back to the second ever World Cup for the biggest opening win by a host nation: Italy in 1934.

A hat-trick by Bologna forward Angelo Schiavio helped them on their way to a 7-1 win over USA in Rome.

Raimondo Orsi of Juventus added a brace and his clubmate Giovanni Ferrari also got on the scoresheet, as did Inter legend Giuseppe Meazza to cap it all off.

And accounts from the time said the USA keeper played well, too. It could have been an absolute landslide.

Italy went on to win the whole tournament, with Orsi and Schiavio scoring in the final to defeat Czechoslovakia.

2. Russia 5-0 Saudi Arabia (2018)

Russia’s opener against Saudi Arabia in 2018 came a few years before the Middle Eastern nation’s huge investment in football really kicked off.

It was a one-sided affair with La Liga-based winger Denis Cheryshev scoring a brace after the tournament’s first goal by Yuri Gazinsky.

Artem Dzyuba and Aleksandar Golovin got in on the act, with the latter becoming a breakout star of the tournament and earning a move to Monaco that summer.

Russia made it to the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Croatia on penalties. This was their last World Cup before being suspended from FIFA competitions.

3. Brazil 4-0 Mexico (1950)

Brazil had big hopes for their first World Cup title after the tournament returned in the post-War years.

It all kicked off at the Maracana with a 4-0 win over Mexico. Ademir, a forward for Vasco da Gama, scored a brace before goals from Palmeiras’ Jair and Corinthians’ Baltazar.

But they went on to suffer one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history at the same venue in their final game, leaving Uruguay as the winners.

4. USA 4-1 Paraguay (2026)

You can’t deny football – sorry, soccer – has grown in the USA in recent years, but it’s unlikely to become the national sport no matter what happens this summer.

Still, things have started well for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. At the first time of asking, they’ve claimed their biggest ever World Cup win, eclipsing 3-0 wins over Belgium and Paraguay in their first two games way back in 1930.

Paraguay were the losers again on this occasion as one of their own goals was followed by a brace from Folarin Balogun and a stoppage-time strike from Gio Reyna.

5. France 3-0 South Africa (1998)

France won their first World Cup on home soil in 1998, getting up and running with a 3-0 win over South Africa at the Velodrome in Marseille.

Christophe Dugarry put them in front and then an own goal doubled the advantage, before a 20-year-old Monaco forward named Thierry Henry scored in stoppage time. Wonder what happened to him.

6. Sweden 3-0 Mexico (1958)

It’s hard to imagine Sweden hosting a World Cup these days, but that was the case in 1958.

They enjoyed a 3-0 win over Mexico in their opener, with Agne Simonsson scoring either side of a Nils Liedholm penalty.

The Scandinavians ultimately went all the way to the final but lost 5-2 to Brazil. Simonsson and Liedholm were their scorers again, but they were no match for an opposition side starring Pele.