USA beat Paraguay 4-1 in World Cup opener as Folarin Balogun scores twice. The USMNT record their biggest World Cup win since 1930 in Los Angeles.
The United States opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a dominant 4-1 victory over Paraguay. Folarin Balogun scored twice, while an early own goal and a late Gio Reyna strike sealed the historic win in Los Angeles.
The United States Men's National Team don begin their 2026 World Cup journey in emphatic style, securing a 4-1 victory over Paraguay in front of 70,492 fans at Los Angeles Stadium. The win marks the team's first World Cup victory by a three-goal margin since 1930 when they also beat Paraguay 3-0.
The Americans couldn't have asked for a better start. Just seven minutes into the match, a deflected pass from Weston McKennie was turned into the net by Paraguay defender Damian Bobadilla for an own goal. The early breakthrough unsettled the South American side, and the USMNT capitalised fully.
Folarin Balogun then took centre stage. The 24-year-old striker, wey represent United States despite im Nigerian descent, scored im first-ever World Cup goal in the 31st minute. Christian Pulisic, wey don become the USMNT's all-time World Cup assists leader, provided the pinpoint cross for the finish. Balogun wasn't done yet. In first-half stoppage time, e completed a stunning brace, curling a left-footed shot into the top corner after evading two defenders . E become the first American player to score multiple goals in a single World Cup match since Bert Patenaude's hat-trick in 1930.
The three-goal halftime lead represent the largest in US World Cup history . Paraguay pulled one back through Mauricio in the 73rd minute, but Giovanni Reyna added a fourth in the eighth minute of stoppage time to complete the rout.
As e be now, fans dey already celebrate this record-breaking performance. This match was the highest-scoring World Cup game for the USMNT, and the team dominated possession with 59% and completed 520 passes. The 4-1 victory also marked the tournament's first high-scoring match.
The USMNT go now turn their attention to their next Group D fixture against Australia on June 19 in Seattle. With three points and a massive goal difference, the co-hosts have firmly announced their intentions to the rest of the tournament.
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