The USA opened the 2026 World Cup with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay before a sellout crowd of 70,492 at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California.
A day after South Korea celebrated a World Cup victory, the United States delivered one of its own.
LA Stadium erupted in chants for the home team on June 12 as the United States, one of the three co-hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, overwhelmed Paraguay in its opening match.
The U.S. men’s national team, coached by Mauricio Pochettino, earned a commanding 4-1 victory in its first Group D match.
Despite the long-standing perception that soccer remains a secondary sport in the United States, all 70,492 seats at the stadium were filled.
The high-profile crowd included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Paris Hilton, Hilary Duff, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Lucas, IShowSpeed, David Beckham and Owen Wilson.
The match marked only the second World Cup meeting between the United States and Paraguay.
The two teams last faced each other 96 years ago during the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. The United States won that match 3-0 behind a hat trick from Bert Patenaude.
The U.S. took the lead in the seventh minute.
Christian Pulisic drove into the left side of the penalty area and passed to Weston McKennie. McKennie’s ball into the middle deflected off Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla and went into the net for the tournament’s first own goal.
The United States continued to attack primarily through the left side, where Pulisic repeatedly created danger.
Folarin Balogun appeared to score with a left-footed shot in the 28th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Three minutes later, Balogun found the net again.
Pulisic delivered a cutback from the left side of the penalty area, and Balogun finished with his right foot in the 31st minute.
Balogun added another goal in first-half stoppage time.
After receiving a pass from Malik Tillman, he held off a defender and scored with a left-footed shot from the center of the penalty area to give the United States a 3-0 lead.
Paraguay replaced Bobadilla with Mauricio at the start of the second half.
Mauricio pulled one back in the 73rd minute, receiving a pass from Julio César Enciso and scoring with his left foot.
The United States completed the 4-1 victory in second-half stoppage time when Gio Reyna added the final goal.
Before the match, Lisa of K-pop group BLACKPINK performed during the opening ceremony, drawing an enthusiastic response from fans.
