The U.S. men’s national soccer team just scored four goals in a single World Cup match. It did so on Friday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where 70,492 fans watched the USMNT dismantle Paraguay 4-1 in their Group D opener at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The USMNT finished the match with 65% possession, 16 total shots to Paraguay’s nine, and six shots on target compared to just one for La Albirroja. On paper it was a rout. On the pitch it looked like one too.
Balogun
Folarin Balogun was the driving force behind the USMNT performance. The 24-year-old striker had a goal overturned for offside early on, then responded by scoring twice before halftime to put the USMNT up 3-0 going into the break. His first finish came in the 31st minute. His second arrived in first-half stoppage time.
Balogun finished the match with a player rating of 8.9, and his movement throughout caused consistent problems for Paraguay’s defensive line. He became only the second American to score more than once in a World Cup match, joining Bert Patenaude, who achieved the feat in the very first World Cup tournament in 1930.
The opening goal, scored in the seventh minute, came from a moment of chaos that Weston McKennie helped engineer. His run and cross deflected off Paraguayan defender Damián Bobadilla and into the net for an own goal. McKennie earned a 7.4 rating for a complete performance that underlined his value as both a playmaker and a disruptor in midfield.
Pulisic sets the table before exiting at halftime
Christian Pulisic did not score, but his presence shaped the game’s first 45 minutes. He contributed directly to the first two goals and pressed Paraguay’s defense into a series of errors that the U.S. was sharp enough to punish. He was substituted at halftime after taking a knock to his left calf, a precautionary move that coach Mauricio Pochettino later addressed postgame. Pulisic downplayed the injury.
Paraguay pulled one back in the 73rd minute through Mauricio, briefly cutting the deficit to 3-1. It was the one moment the visitors found their footing. Giovanni Reyna, who came on as a late substitute, sealed the result in stoppage time with a trivela finish that capped a 20-plus pass sequence. It was his first World Cup goal and one of the most technically precise moments of the night.
What this result means going forward for the USMNT
The USMNT went into the 2026 World Cup carrying the weight of expectation that comes with hosting the tournament 32 years after the U.S. last did so. They had not advanced past the round of 16 in 24 years. Friday’s result does not resolve either of those facts, but it changes the conversation around what this team is capable of.
One more point in Group D secures advancement. Their next match is against Australia on June 19 at Lumen Field in Seattle, followed by a group stage finale against Turkey on June 25 in Los Angeles.
The performance against Paraguay was built on passing accuracy of 85% to Paraguay’s 72%, relentless pressing, and a finishing efficiency that previous U.S. World Cup squads rarely managed. Whether they can replicate it will determine how deep this run goes.
