Gemilang start at the 2026 World Cup, USA destroy Paraguay

JAKARTA - The United States, which is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, had a brilliant start at the 2026 World Cup. In the first duel in Group D at the SoFi Stadium, Saturday, June 13, 2026 WIB morning, the US destroyed Paraguay 4-1.

The US showed maximum performance when appearing with the support of fans. The Stars and The Strips' first match was watched by Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Paris Hilton.

The support of the artists was not in vain. Mauricio Pochettino's team appeared with high spirits. Even the match was only seven minutes, they were ahead through Damian Bobadilla's own goal. This goal started with a cross kick from striker Folarin Balogun which hit Bobadilla. However, the ball instead slid into the net so that AS was ahead 1-0.

The suicide goal made the US players even more excited. They appeared offensive to press the Paraguay defense. Even the host actually managed to add a goal through Balogun who built a partnership with Christian Pulisic in the 28th minute. Only that goal was annulled because he was judged to be in an offside position.

But Balogun finally didn't make a mistake when he received a cross from Pulisic who managed to score, three minutes later. The score changed to 2-0 for the US.

Furthermore, the Monaco striker scored a brace in the first half injury time. Balogun brought AS ahead 3-0 when entering the break.

Entering the second half, Paraguay tried to rise. They tried to match the US offensive game. However, the US still dominated the ball. This makes Paraguay difficult to break the deadlock.

But Gustavo Alfaro's team's efforts finally paid off. In the 73rd minute, Paraguay narrowed the gap after Mauricio successfully broke Matt Freese's goal.

The score changed 3-1 and Paraguay tried to increase the pressure. Only they failed to meet the target. Moreover, the US finally managed to consolidate the lead before the match ended.

Veteran midfielder Giovanni Reyna successfully broke into the Paraguay goal in injury time. The goal from the son of US legend Claudio Reyna gave the team a 4-1 lead. The score remained until the end of the match so that the US successfully topped Group D.