By 
*By Ross Moyo*
Four years after scoring just three goals across four games in Qatar, the U.S. men’s national team matched that output in 45 minutes and doubled it by full time, opening the 2026 World Cup with a 4-1 win over Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium that felt engineered, not accidental. The co-hosts exploded to a three-goal first-half lead on two Folarin Balogun strikes — the first time the USA scored three in a World Cup opening half since 2002 — before Gio Reyna’s stoppage-time golazo sealed the first four-goal World Cup performance in U.S. men’s history.
The “own goal” opener in the 7th minute came from a 100-yard build that started with Alex Freeman’s long pass to Weston McKennie, who combined with Christian Pulisic before McKennie’s feed deflected off Damián Bobadilla past keeper Orlando Gill. At this level, fortune favors systems, and the USA’s high-press, data-driven transitions manufactured that break. “The first game is always the most difficult, to get the nerves out of the way,” 
Balogun said. “We were able to do that really quickly.”
Balogun delivered the clinical edge. The New York-born, London-reared striker had a Video Assistant Referee VAR-cancelled goal in the 28th minute, then converted a Pulisic pass three minutes later and struck again on the stroke of halftime for his brace. It was the first American multi-goal World Cup game in 96 years since Bert Patenaude’s hat trick vs Paraguay in 1930. “It was a dreamy night,” Balogun said. “I visualized my debut in the World Cup, scoring, but yeah, the reality did surpass that.” Pulisic called him “lethal right now in front of goal.”
Pulisic was the tactical hub of the pulsating first half, threading passes and pulling defenders, but he started the second period on the bench. Mauricio Pochettino said, “We didn’t want to take any risks,” after a first-half kick. Pulisic explained, “I just got a bit of a kick… Taking a little bit of precaution today, but I’m hoping I’ll be fine the next few days.” With 70% possession and the game under control, the load management looked algorithmic — protect the key asset for Group D’s next data point: Australia in Seattle on June 19.
The performance wasn’t flawless. Paraguay pulled one back before Reyna’s outside-of-the-boot finish deep into stoppage time, a reminder that dominance must be converted into zero-error defense. Still, the 4-1 scoreline and historic four-goal mark send a signal: this U.S. team is using home-field data, pressing metrics and finishing efficiency to reset expectations. With Australia and Türkiye still to play, the hardest work remains. “We’ll enjoy this one tonight… then we’re going to get right back to work,” Pulisic said. “There’s still so much more we want to accomplish in this tournament.”
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