The United States made a powerful statement on home soil as they launched their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a commanding 4-1 victory over Paraguay in Los Angeles.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side delivered a performance full of attacking quality and confidence, extending their impressive Group Stage record to nine wins in their last 10 matches, while Paraguay endured a difficult return to football’s biggest stage after a 16-year absence.
The Stars and Stripes wasted little time making their intentions clear, taking the lead inside eight minutes through a moment of misfortune for Paraguay.
Christian Pulisic was at the heart of the move, bursting into the box before his cut-back found Weston McKennie, whose touch ultimately saw Damián Bobadilla turn the ball into his own net.
The early goal settled the hosts, with Pulisic and McKennie continuing to cause problems for a Paraguay defence that struggled to contain the Americans’ movement and intensity.
Los Guaranies, meanwhile, offered little in response, with a deflected Julio Enciso effort proving their best opportunity of the opening exchanges.
The USA thought they had doubled their advantage in the 28th minute when Folarin Balogun found the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside against Pulisic during the build-up.
However, the Monaco forward would not be denied for long.
Just three minutes later, Pulisic once again provided the inspiration, chasing down a loose ball before delivering a perfect pull-back for Balogun to calmly finish and make it 2-0.
The Americans continued to dominate and came close to adding a third when Chris Richards headed narrowly wide from a corner, before goalkeeper Orlando Gill denied Malik Tillman from close range.
Paraguay’s resistance finally collapsed in first-half stoppage time when Balogun produced a moment of individual brilliance.
Running onto Tillman’s through ball, the striker cut inside two defenders before curling a stunning effort into the top corner, giving the USA a three-goal lead at the interval, the first time they had ever held such an advantage at half-time in a World Cup match.
With Paraguay needing a dramatic response after the break, the 2010 quarter-finalists struggled to find a way back into the contest.
Their attacking efforts were repeatedly frustrated, with Miguel Almiron and Diego Gomez both seeing attempts blocked by their own teammates.
The USA remained in control, although Paraguay refused to surrender.
After Enciso sparked a promising move, Almirón found Maurício, who had only just entered the match at half-time, and the substitute calmly slotted past Matt Freese to score his first senior international goal and give Paraguay a brief lifeline.
The visitors pushed for another breakthrough, but the USA restored their dominance late on. Despite Gill making important saves to deny Tillman and substitute Timothy Weah, the hosts sealed a historic victory deep into stoppage time with the last kick of the game.
A magnificent 26-pass team move ended with Giovanni Reyna using the outside of his foot to guide the ball beyond Gill, completing a memorable night for American football.
The victory marked the first time the USA had scored four goals in a World Cup match and their biggest-ever win in the tournament, surpassing their previous 3-0 victory over Paraguay in the 1930 World Cup, the first meeting between the two nations.
For Paraguay, the defeat extended their difficult record against the United States, with Gustavo Alfaro’s side suffering a fourth consecutive head-to-head loss.
The USA will look to build on their impressive start when they face Australia next Friday at 10 pm, while Paraguay will aim to recover when they meet Turkey on Saturday at 6 am.
