Los Angeles Stadium – A day before the United States men’s national team achieved its most lopsided victory at the FIFA World Cup in nearly a century, head coach Mauricio Pochettino mentioned something that seemed like a trivial comment at the time.
In their opening match of the 2026 tournament, USA players “need to think about tomorrow and play like they’re a kid,” he said, “and without pressure, without responsibility.”
Have they ever?
In front of a huge home crowd of more than 70,000 fans, Pochettino’s side demolished a Paraguay team that had qualified for this World Cup by conceding just 10 goals in 18 qualifying matches – beating Brazil and defending champions Argentina – with a 4-1 win on Friday night.
The Stars and Stripes were brave. They were continuously moving forward, the danger of counter-attack was looming. They suffocated their battle-tested South American opponent from the opening whistle and did not concede until the end, when Gio Reyna scored a beautiful fourth goal in the final seconds of stoppage time. The poor Paraguayans never knew what hit them, as the United States scored the most goals ever in a World Cup match.
Most of all, the co-hosts played it loose. Without burden. Like children.
“We just wanted to go out there and feel how we felt every time we played pickup ball,” said midfielder Weston McKennie, whose attempted pass to Folarin Balogun in the seventh minute resulted in an own goal that put the World Cup co-hosts off course. “We wanted to go out there and have fun.”
Weston McKennie (left) celebrates with American striker Folarin Balogun’s second goal. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Just a few weeks ago, even die-hard American fans were wondering whether their team was capable of putting up a respectable performance in the second World Cup held on American soil.
After falling badly to European powers Belgium and Portugal in March, supporters could not be blamed for fearing the worst. The final win over Senegal and a respectable defeat to Germany last week restored cautious optimism.
Still, few could have predicted such a spectacular start to the World Cup campaign.
United States vs. Paraguay Extended Highlights | 2026 FIFA World Cup™
After a potential goal was ruled offside following a review, striker Folarin Balogun scored twice, the second a left-footed rocket into the top corner of the visitors’ net. America’s occupation remained dominant.
Paraguay scored on their only shot of the evening in the second half, but the truth is that the home team could have added a few more shots.
Still, it was a historically good performance on football’s biggest stage – one they can build on as the tournament progresses.
Veteran left back Antoine “JD” Robinson said, “It’s the first performance the fans can really be proud of.” “We’re a competitive team, and we mean business.”
Now, the challenge is to do it again. As impressive as Friday night was for the Americans, it won’t mean much if they fail to win their next two Group D contests.
Captain Tim Ream, who at 38 became the oldest American to appear in a World Cup match, said, “We’ll try to put in another similar performance against Australia and Turkey and build on that from there.”
Balogun could be key in the attack.
It was not immediately clear afterward whether Christian Pulisic would be available for next Friday’s meeting with the Socceroos in Seattle. The U.S. headliner, who was involved in the first two U.S. goals versus Paraguay, took a kick to the left shin and said he “hopes I’ll be fine in the next few days.”
Either way, Balogun’s presence eases Pulisic’s scoring load somewhat. Speaking of history, the AS Monaco striker accomplished something on Friday and became the first American in nearly a century to achieve multiple highs in a single match.
Christian Pulisic celebrates with Folarin Balogun after scoring against Paraguay. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
“When you have a goaltender who is so confident, that’s a big thing,” midfielder Tyler Adams said.
It’s the same World Cup experience that many of these players came into the competition with. Four years after starting 11 debutants in their opener at Qatar 2022, more than half of Pochettino’s lineup was made up of players who had been there before.
“Winning 4-1 against a team like Paraguay says a lot, especially in the opening game, but we also know this is just a start,” McKennie said. “It’s something we don’t want to celebrate too much.”
Not yet anyway. After all, he still has a lot left to prove – to his doubters, and to himself.
Ream said, “It’s easy to do that in a game; then you have to support it.”
“That,” he said, “is clearly the target for us.”
