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The United States opened their home World Cup in emphatic style, thumping Paraguay 4–1 at SoFi Stadium in the most goals the USMNT have ever scored in a single World Cup match — a record that had stood since 1930. Folarin Balogun was the story: the ex-Arsenal striker who chose the US over England scored twice before half time, becoming the first American with a World Cup brace in 96 years, and Gio Reyna wrapped things up with a sumptuous stoppage-time curler with the outside of his foot. An own goal from Damián Bobadilla got the rout started; Paraguay's Maurício offered a consolation in the 73rd minute that fooled nobody. USA go top of Group D with three points; Paraguay need something from their next two games to stay alive.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1The USA are playing their World Cup opener at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles — co-hosting this tournament alongside Canada and Mexico — which means the weight of expectation is enormous. If the US don't get out of a group that includes Uruguay and Bolivia alongside Paraguay, it will be a genuine national crisis, and everyone involved knows it.
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2The last time these two met at a World Cup was 1930 — when the USA won 3-0 and American forward Bert Patenaude scored the first hat-trick in World Cup history. It's a piece of trivia that will make you sound absurdly well-informed. Drop it early.
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3Paraguay arrive unbeaten in eight matches and having beaten Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in qualifying — so don't make the mistake of treating them as easy opposition. Their manager Gustavo Alfaro has built a disciplined, compact team that's uncomfortable to play against. They're not here to make up the numbers.
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4The player to watch for the USA is Christian Pulisic — their captain and best footballer, who plays for AC Milan. He links everything in attack and tends to be the difference-maker when the US are good. For Paraguay, keep an eye on Miguel Almirón, the former Newcastle winger who terrorises opposing fullbacks on the counter-attack.
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5A USA win puts them in a strong position to advance. A draw is fine but nervous. A Paraguay win here would be one of the early upsets of the tournament and would pile serious pressure on the host nation heading into their remaining group games.
Team Talking Points
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1The USA's home World Cup ended in the round of 16 with a 4-1 defeat to Belgium on July 6 — a lopsided scoreline that stung more because of everything riding on a co-host doing well in front of its own fans. It's the exact round US soccer has been trying to get past for over two decades.
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2The genuine high point came the round before: a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, the USA's first men's World Cup knockout win since 2002. Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman scored, and for one night the years of 'this could be the tournament' talk actually paid off.
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3The turning point was ugly timing: Balogun was sent off in that same Bosnia win for a controversial challenge, which meant he missed the Belgium game through suspension. Belgium then exposed the USA's defence for four goals, including one after a goalkeeping slip from Matt Freese. Missing your in-form striker for the biggest game of the tournament is the kind of bad luck worth being sympathetic about.
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4Malik Tillman was the USA's standout over the tournament — he scored direct free kicks in back-to-back matches, including one to briefly pull the Belgium game level at 1-1 before it got away from them. A genuinely rare skill to pull off twice at a World Cup, let alone as a co-host under that kind of pressure.
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5The USA got their long-awaited knockout win, then ran into a Belgium side that outclassed them — a normal, if painful, way for a co-host to bow out. The real story for 2026 was proving the drought was breakable at all; the next job is building a team that survives the round after.
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Top thing to say down the pub
The USA finally won a World Cup knockout match for the first time since 2002 — then lost their next one 4-1 to Belgium missing their best striker through suspension, which is very on-brand for American soccer.
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Avoid saying
"At least they hosted a great tournament" — true, but say it to a fan mid-heartbreak about a 4-1 home loss and you'll sound like you're changing the subject, because you are.
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1Paraguay's run ended in the round of 16, beaten 1-0 by France on July 4 — a single Kylian Mbappé penalty in the 70th minute the only difference between them and the semifinals. A tight, proud way to go out against the team that reached the final.
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2The story of their tournament was the round of 32: Paraguay eliminated four-time champions Germany on penalties, 4-3, after a 1-1 draw — widely rated the biggest shock of the whole tournament. Julio Enciso scored the opener that started it all.
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3Goalkeeper Orlando Gill was the actual match-winner in that shootout, saving spot-kicks from Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade before Germany's Jonathan Tah blazed his over the bar. Not a bad way for a goalkeeper to become a household name overnight.
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4Getting there wasn't straightforward, either — Paraguay finished third in their group after a 4-1 loss to the USA, a 1-0 win over Turkey and a goalless draw with Australia, and still made it through as one of the best third-place finishers.
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5It's not quite as deep as their famous 2010 quarterfinal run, but knocking out one of the tournament favourites on the way is the kind of story Paraguayan football will be telling for years regardless of exactly which round it happened in.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Paraguay knocked four-time champions Germany out of this World Cup on penalties — their goalkeeper saved two spot-kicks to do it — and that's before you even get to how close they came to knocking out France as well.
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Avoid saying
Don't say 'at least they beat Germany' like that's the whole story — they then went toe-to-toe with the eventual finalists and lost by a single penalty. Underselling the France game undersells the whole run.