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The USA beat Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles as the three World Cup finalists will now play in 2026.
Updated on 13 Jun 2026
The United States could have recorded the perfect start to their World Cup as a Folarin Balogun brace and a Gio Reyna curler fired their teammates. and 4-1 download of Paraguay in front of the Hollywood Palace in Los Angeles.
The hosts took the lead in the first game of the competition in the US within seven minutes thanks to a goal, and by the end of the biggest half the home fans were in dreamland, their side three up.
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Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio and Paris Hilton were among the 70,492 sold-out crowd as the US – competing in the competition with Mexico and Canada – piled on the South American crowd, Reyna pulling off a late winner after Mauricio fired back.
The win and a good guarantee put the US in a good position going into Group D, which also includes Australia and Turkey.
The only potentially painful note of the night was the exit of half Christian Pulisic, the attacking talisman of the United States and the country’s hope as they attempt to compete in the World Cup for the first time since their quarter-final appearance in 2002.
Paraguay could not have been more important visitors from the start. In the seventh minute, Weston McKennie picked up the ball in the middle of the field and drove down the field, finding Pulisic.
Pulisic dived between two defenders and passed the ball back to McKennie, whose pass to striker Balogun was headed into his own net by the unfortunate Damian Bobadilla.
The stadium exploded, and the US war began.
The hosts were confident. Both McKennie and Tillman played balls back into the area, while captain Tim Ream produced a heart-stopping defense.
Balogun had a goal that was released in the 28th minute. He missed, as did Pulisic in the build-up.
But the Monaco striker found the back of the net three minutes later, thanks to a superb ball down the left from Antonee Robinson to Pulisic, whose pass from Balogun narrowly deflected.
The US added a third late in the half. Tillman found Balogun on the right, who evaded Omar Alderrete’s challenge, dived inside Gustavo Gomez and curled his shot into the bottom left corner.
It could have been four or five, with Chris Richards – returning from injury – nodding an inch. The US had 75 percent in the first half.
Now without the fearsome Pulisic, the crowd was a bit behind in the second half.
Paraguay finally gave the threat. Their dangerous striker Julio Enciso, who started despite a hip injury, collected the ball on the edge of the area and fed Brazilian-born substitute Mauricio, who rebounded.
Reyna scored the fourth highest with the outside of his right foot which curled inside the far post.
The game was preceded by a Tinseltown-like opening ceremony. Katy Perry performed the title, along with singers Future, Tyla, Anitta and K-pop star Lisa.
The players danced around the big World Cup trophy under the large letters of “FIFA” in gold beloved by US President Donald Trump – who did not attend, instead wishing the team well by phone before kick-off.
