USA Start World Cup with 4-1 Victory

In the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D opening match, USA beat Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi Stadium to start the tournament with full points. The match was watched by 70,492 spectators. USA closed the first half 3-0 up with an effective performance; in the second half, although Paraguay reduced the gap with Mauricio Caballero, Giovanni Reyna's 90+8 goal brought the fourth. Dutch referee Danny Makkelie officiated the match.

The opening goal of the match came unexpectedly in the 7th minute. After USA's pressure, Damian Bobadilla, trying to clear the ball inside the penalty area, sent the ball into his own net and the home team went 1-0 ahead. Paraguay received the first yellow card in the 10th minute for Juan Caceres' tripping. In the 28th minute, Folarin Balogun's goal was disallowed for offside. In the 31st minute, Balogun converted Christian Pulisic's assist to double the lead: 2-0. In stoppage time of the first half, Balogun met the ball through Malik Tillman's assist and scored his personal second and the team's third goal to make it 3-0.

Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro started the second half with a substitution in the 46th minute; he took off Bobadilla and brought on Mauricio Caballero. Mauricio Pochettino changed Pulisic with Sebastian Berhalter in the same minute. In the 53rd minute, Miguel Almiron was shown a yellow card for diving. In the 59th, USA's Tyler Adams was shown a yellow card for pushing. In the 62nd, Alfaro took off Antonio Sanabria and brought on Alex Arce. In the 72nd, Pochettino made a double change; Timothy Weah came on for Sergino Dest, and Ricardo Pepi for Balogun.

In the 73rd minute, Paraguay reduced the gap. Mauricio Caballero converted Julio Enciso's assist to make it 3-1. After this, a flurry of yellow cards began: in the 79th Diego Gomez and Juan Caceres were shown yellow cards for pulling; in the same minutes Alfaro brought on Ramon Sosa for Almiron, Gustavo Velazquez for Caceres, and in the 80th Kaku for Gomez. In the 82nd, Pochettino made his final move; he brought Giovanni Reyna on for Malik Tillman. In the 88th, Arce for pushing and in the 90+3 Junior Alonso for pulling were shown yellow cards.

In the final moments of the match, USA stretched the gap to four. In the 90+8, Giovanni Reyna found the back of the net with a true striker's finish to make it 4-1. This goal carried the enthusiasm of USA fans to the peak.

The match statistics clearly showed USA's pressure. Expected goals (xG) USA 1.28 to Paraguay 0.51; possession 65% to 35%; total shots 16 to 9; big chances 4 to 1; touches in the opposition box USA 53 to Paraguay 9. This victory carried USA to the top of Group D with 3 points. USA's next match is on June 19 against Australia, and their third match is on June 23 against Turkey.

Image: npr.org