For the first time in more than three decades, a men's World Cup match kicked off on American soil, and the United States made the moment count. The U.S. men's national team delivered a commanding 4-1 win over Paraguay in their Group D opener on Friday at Los Angeles Stadium, announcing themselves as genuine contenders in front of a roaring home crowd.
Two goals from striker Folarin Balogun, an own goal by Paraguay's Damián Bobadilla, and a late strike from Gio Reyna gave the U.S. a result that was a record for the men's program, which had never scored more than three goals in a single World Cup game. The 2022 squad, by comparison, managed just three goals across its entire four-game run in Qatar — a contrast that captures how far this group has traveled.
What the U.S. got right: ruthlessness from the first whistle
The defining feature of this performance was tempo and decisiveness — the very qualities that have eluded the USMNT at past tournaments. Mauricio Pochettino's side raced out to a 3-0 halftime lead after Balogun scored twice in 20 minutes, Pulisic wreaked havoc on the wing for 45 minutes, and Paraguay managed just two shots before the break.
The opener came early. In the seventh minute, Pulisic and Weston McKennie combined on the left flank to force an own goal off Paraguay's Damián Bobadilla. The pressure never relented. In the 31st minute, Antonee Robinson found Pulisic with an incisive ball down the flank; Pulisic cut it back to Balogun, who slotted it home with force. Then came the moment of real quality: just before halftime, Malik Tillman played a through ball, Balogun spun his defender and finessed the ball into the top-left corner with his weaker left foot.
This is the throughline that separated Friday from the USMNT of old. Never before had the USMNT dominated every facet of a game at the World Cup — and they did it from the opening whistle. The U.S. controlled the ball, controlled territory and turned chances into goals rather than squandering them — a recurring failing in Qatar.
How this differed from the USMNT's usual approach
Under Pochettino, the U.S. is leaning into a higher-intensity, front-foot identity. Pochettino is known for a high-intensity style that platforms his main attackers, with Tillman and Balogun joining Pulisic up top, supported by two attacking wingbacks. Historically, the U.S. has been at its best as a reactive, counter-attacking, defensively organized side that grinds out narrow results. Friday flipped that script: the U.S. was the aggressor, dictating play through midfield and committing numbers forward. One Yahoo tracker logged possession as high as 63-37 in the Americans' favor in the run of play, while BBC's full-match figures settled at a still-dominant 55.9% to 44.1%.
The forward who makes this style viable is Balogun. He is unlike any striker the U.S. team has had before — a true penalty-box finisher who lets the wide creators play to a focal point, rather than the U.S. relying on midfield runners arriving late. NBC Sports
The weakness fans should watch for: the second-half lapse
For all the dominance, the match also exposed the soft spot opponents will probe. U.S. concentration lapsed early in the second half, and cracks showed again after Pochettino's first set of substitutions. Paraguay unlocked the defense, and Julio Enciso set up Maurício for a clean finish — a worrisome moment for a U.S. side that has had defensive problems this year.
The pattern is worth flagging for the next opponent: when the U.S. rotates its lineup and drops its intensity, the back line can be caught out. The U.S. back line looked caught off-guard on Paraguay's goal, which began with goalkeeper Orlando Gill and ended at Maurício's feet. Better attacking sides — and Group D rivals like Turkey — will note that the U.S. is most vulnerable in transition during the 15-minute window after substitutions, when shape and communication slip. The U.S. also failed to put the game fully to bed when it had chances: Tillman should have restored the three-goal margin but squandered a clear opening from the center of the box.
There is one more storyline to monitor: Pulisic was brilliant in the first half but came off at halftime, with the team later describing it as precautionary after a kick to the left calf. His fitness is the single biggest variable in the U.S. ceiling.
Who will score the goals for the U.S.?
On Friday's evidence, the answer is Balogun first and foremost — the Monaco striker now looks like the focal point of the attack and a genuine Golden Boot dark horse. Pulisic remains the chief creator and a threat in his own right, and Reyna's stoppage-time strike was a reminder of the firepower on the bench. Expect the goals to flow through that Balogun-Pulisic axis, with Tillman, Reyna and Ricardo Pepi as secondary scoring threats. If Pulisic's calf is an issue, more creative load shifts to Tillman and the attacking wingbacks.
How U.S. soccer differs from Europe and South America
The American game has its own flavor, and Friday illustrated it. Where many European sides prize positional control and patient build-up, and South American teams lean on individual flair, technical security in tight spaces and street-honed game management, the U.S. style is built on athleticism, vertical directness and relentless pressing — turning the field into a track meet. Paraguay's identity is classically South American in a different register: physical, defensively stubborn and pragmatic. Returning to the World Cup for the first time since a 2010 quarterfinal run, Paraguay had conceded just 10 goals across its 18 qualifiers — which makes the four they shipped on Friday all the more striking. The U.S. simply moved faster than Paraguay could reset, and that speed-and-space approach is the closest thing American soccer has to a national signature.
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