The U.S. team put on a striking offensive display in the opening game of the 2026 World Cup, beating Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, in a game in which the hosts imposed their rhythm from the first minute until the final whistle, to make their first mark in the group with great confidence.
The United States started the game in the best-case scenario when Paraguayan defender Damian Popadia scored a reverse goal in the 7th minute, giving the hosts an early lead that confused the visitors' calculations. A few minutes later, it was clear that Paraguay were facing a tough physical game, with Juan Cáceres receiving a yellow card in the 10th minute.
The constant American pressure resulted in a second goal in the 31st minute through Volarin Balogun after an organized attack led by Christian Pulisic, who provided an assist that put his teammate in front of the goal, and as the first half drew to a close, the two teams resorted to early substitutions, in an attempt to adjust the tempo before entering the dressing room.
As the second half began, the U.S. continued to dominate, returning to Balogun and signing his team's second and third personal goals in the 50th minute after a pass from Malik Tillman, confirming the U.S.'s superiority in all of the games. Despite Paraguay's attempts to come back, they reduced the deficit in the 73rd minute through Mauricio Prado after a pass from Julio Inciso.
The final minutes saw a series of substitutions and warnings by Paraguay, in an attempt to stop the American superiority, but the United States ended the game as it began: attack and pressure. In the 98th minute, Giovanni Reyna scored the fourth goal, putting the seal on a purely American night.
The numbers came to reflect the full picture: American possession 64% vs. 36% for Paraguay, 16 shots for the United States vs. 9, 6 shots on goal for just one, superiority in corners (3 vs. 1) and greater discipline in cards despite high tackles, while the undisputed star of the match was Volarin Balogun, who earned a rating of 9.1 after scoring two goals and creating an impressive attacking presence, leading his country to one of its strongest starts in the history of its World Cup participations.
After 6 losses. Historic draw gives Canada first World Cup point
Canada achieved a historic achievement by obtaining the first point in its history in the FIFA World Cup, after drawing 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Friday evening, in the opening Group B matches of the 2026 World Cup held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The match, which was held in Toronto, witnessed a strong start from the Bosnia and Herzegovina team, which opened the scoring through its player Jovo Lukic in the 21st minute, taking advantage of a relative advantage in the first half.
But the Canadian team came back in the second half, and succeeded in realizing the equalizer through its striker Kyle Larrain in the 78th minute, to ignite the atmosphere of the match and give the hosts a valuable point.
With this result, the two teams earned their first point in Group B, which also includes Qatar and Switzerland, who meet on Saturday evening in the first round competitions.
Canada will face Qatar in the second round, while Bosnia and Herzegovina will meet Switzerland in two crucial matches to continue the competition for qualifying tickets.
The draw marks an important achievement for the Canadian team, which had lost all six of its previous matches in its previous two World Cup appearances in 1986 and 2022, ending its streak of negative results and giving its fans a glimmer of hope in the current tournament.
Comments (0)