World Cup 2026: USA 4-1 Paraguay - Folarin Balogun at double as Mauricio Pochettino's hosts deliver statement victory

13.06.2026, 06:37 skysports.com

The USA kicked off their World Cup on home soil with their joint best-ever victory in the tournament's history as a sizzling performance saw them thrash Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles.

Any weight of expectation on the shoulders of Mauricio Pochettino's men was quickly brushed off as they led from the seventh minute in front of a truly sell-out crowd, with Christian Pulisic pulling the strings - and making that opener, turned through his own net by Damian Bobadilla - before he was withdrawn at the break as a precaution.

He ended up usurped by forward Folarin Balogun, whose first-half double put the hosts out of sight before the interval as a performance filled with Pochettino-esque rotations and intensity blew their normally defensively resolute visitors away.

That tempo dropped off after the break and allowed substitute Mauricio a chance to pull a goal back with 17 minutes left, but Giovanni Reyna put the cherry on the cake of a rampant - and deserved - opening win with a fittingly confident outside-of-the-boot finish in the dying seconds.

Quite how much Pochettino and his side can read into their opening victory remains to be seen and his pre-match assertion that the USA can win the World Cup still seems unlikely - but for a nation who have won only one knock-out World Cup game in its entire history, this certainly suggests a second may not be far away.

USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino to BBC Sport:

"I'm so, so proud. The players, the staff, but the most important thing is the performance and the feeling.

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"This is only one game, it's the start, but we need to be intelligent.

"The first game is always so difficult, hosting the World Cup and the expectations.

"But the way they dealt with the pressure, the first 45 minutes was amazing.

"Pulisic had a kick on his calf, and was feeling a little bit tight. We didn't want to take any risks with him. Hopefully it's not a big issue for him."

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