USA 4–1 Paraguay: Balogun brace headlines dominant USMNT World Cup opener
The United States delivered a commanding World Cup opening performance at Los Angeles Stadium, thrashing Paraguay 4–1 in front of 70,492 fans in Inglewood, California on June 12, 2026. Mauricio Pochettino's side were clinical in front of goal and relentless in attack throughout the match.
The hosts took an early lead when Paraguay's Damián Bobadilla turned a Weston McKennie cross into his own net in the 7th minute. Folarin Balogun doubled the advantage on 31 minutes, converting a Christian Pulisic cross, and the striker added a third moments before half-time when Malik Tillman released him into the box to finish at 45+5'. The United States carried their first-half superiority into the break with a 3–0 lead.
Paraguay pulled one back through Mauricio in the 73rd minute after finding space on the left of the box, but any hope of a comeback was ended when Giovanni Reyna curled an exquisite effort with the outside of his right foot deep into injury time to make it 4–1.
Key moments
- •USA built a 3–0 half-time lead — the largest for a World Cup host in their opening game
- •Folarin Balogun became the first USMNT player to score twice in a World Cup match
- •Paraguay's Damián Bobadilla opened the scoring with an own goal in the 7th minute
- •Giovanni Reyna's curling 90+8' finish was the goal of the match
- •70,492 fans attended at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California
Timeline
Match facts
- Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood, California
- 70,492 attendance
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- Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Match report generated from publicly available sources. Facts are drawn from the sources below.