2026 World Cup: United States Dominate Paraguay 4-1

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States National Team began their journey in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a convincing 4-1 victory over Paraguay in a Group D match held at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Saturday morning, June 13, 2026.

The hosts took the lead just seven minutes into the game. The United States' attacking effort resulted in a disaster for Paraguay as Damian Bobadilla accidentally deflected the ball into his own goal. The own goal put the United States in the lead at 1-0.

The United States actually managed to breach Paraguay's goal again in the 28th minute through Folarin Balogun. However, the goal was disallowed after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review ruled an offside in the attacking process.

Balogun finally put his name on the scoresheet three minutes later. The forward took advantage of Christian Pulisic's pass to unleash a first-touch shot from inside the penalty box, extending the United States' lead to 2-0 in the 31st minute.

The dominance of Mauricio Pochettino's team continued until the end of the first half. In injury time of the first half, Malik Tillman delivered a pass to Balogun who then converted it into the third goal for the United States. The score remained 3-0 until halftime.

Paraguay attempted to bounce back in the second half. Coach Gustavo Alfaro made several player substitutions, including bringing in Mauricio at the start of the second half. The changes paid off in the 73rd minute. Mauricio received a pass from Julio Enciso and unleashed a volley that the United States' goalkeeper failed to stop. This goal reduced Paraguay's deficit to 1-3.

Despite facing pressure, the United States managed to control the flow of the game. The hosts finally secured a convincing victory in the eighth minute of injury time in the second half. Alex Freeman delivered a short pass to Giovanni Reyna inside the penalty box. Reyna then unleashed a shot to the left side of the goal, changing the score to 4-1.

No additional goals were scored until referee Danny Makkelie blew the final whistle. The United States earned three crucial points, opening up the opportunity to advance from Group D to the next stage.

This victory puts the United States in a strong position in the current group standings. Meanwhile, Paraguay must perform well in their next match if they want to advance to the knockout phase.

Read: 2026 World Cup: Canada Held to 1-1 Draw by Bosnia-Herzegovina

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