2026 World Cup: USA hammer Paraguay 4-1 to open campaign

The United States made a flying start to their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a commanding 4-1 victory over Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday.

Playing on home soil, the co-hosts dominated large spells of the Group Stage encounter to secure their biggest-ever win at a FIFA World Cup and extend a strong recent record in the competition’s opening phase.

The Americans took the lead inside eight minutes after Christian Pulisic burst into the penalty area and delivered a dangerous square pass.

Weston McKennie helped the ball on before Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla inadvertently turned it into his own net.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side continued to dictate proceedings, with Pulisic and McKennie driving most of the attacking moves.

Paraguay struggled to create openings, with Julio Enciso’s deflected effort representing their best opportunity during the opening stages.

Folarin Balogun thought he had doubled the advantage in the 28th minute, but the effort was ruled out for offside.

The forward did not have to wait long to get on the scoresheet, however, as he finished from close range three minutes later after another excellent run and delivery from Pulisic.

The pressure continued to mount on Paraguay as Chris Richards headed narrowly wide and goalkeeper Orlando Gill denied Malik Tillman from close range.

With the final action of the first half, Balogun struck again.

The Monaco forward collected a through ball from Tillman, cut inside two defenders and curled a superb finish into the top corner to give the hosts a 3-0 lead at the break.

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Paraguay attempted to respond after the interval, but their efforts were repeatedly frustrated.

Miguel Almirón and Diego Gómez both saw promising opportunities blocked, while Gómez later failed to convert after a positive run by Enciso.

The visitors eventually found a way back into the contest 17 minutes from time. Enciso combined neatly with Almirón before sliding the ball across for substitute Maurício, who guided his finish beyond Matt Freese for his first senior international goal.

Any hopes of a late comeback were ended deep into stoppage time when the United States completed a superb 26-pass move.

Giovanni Reyna applied the finishing touch, using the outside of his foot to steer the ball beyond Gill and seal a memorable victory.

The result marked the first time the United States had scored four goals in a FIFA World Cup match.

It also surpassed their previous biggest World Cup win, a 3-0 victory over Paraguay in the teams’ first meeting at the tournament in 1930.

For Paraguay, the defeat extended their losing streak against the United States to four consecutive matches and spoiled their return to the World Cup finals after a 16-year absence.

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