The United States could not have asked for a louder way to open their home World Cup. Roared on by a packed crowd at SoFi Stadium on Friday night, the hosts pulled Paraguay apart in a three goal first half and ran out 4-1 winners, the most goals the American men have ever scored in a World Cup match.
Folarin Balogun was at the centre of it. The striker scored twice before the interval, the first a composed right footed finish in the 31st minute after Christian Pulisic threaded him through, the second deep into first half stoppage time when he turned and drilled low into the corner. No United States player had scored twice in a single World Cup game since the very first tournament in 1930.
The night had opened even better than the run of play that followed. Inside seven minutes Pulisic’s pressure down the left forced a panicked clearance, and Damián Bobadilla turned the ball into his own net to hand the hosts a lead they never looked like surrendering. By the time Balogun struck his second, the noise inside the stadium had the feel of a crowd that believed this tournament could belong to its team.
Paraguay found a foothold after the break. Mauricio swept in from the centre of the box in the 73rd minute, converting a set piece worked by Julio Enciso, and for a short spell the visitors pushed for a second that might have made the closing stretch nervous. It never came.
Instead the United States had the final word. Deep into stoppage time Giovanni Reyna, only recently restored to the side, glided into the area and toe flicked home his first World Cup goal, set up by Alex Freeman, to make it four and seal a statement the hosts had waited years to deliver.
It was the first World Cup match played on United States soil in 32 years, and the performance carried the weight of that wait. Players and staff had spoken all week about needing to show up on the biggest stage their country has hosted in a generation, and a four goal opening night did exactly that.
There is a long way to go in Group D, and sterner tests than a Paraguay side that faded will come. But for one night in Inglewood the doubts that have trailed this team gave way to something simpler, a home crowd on its feet and a striker who has just written his name into the country’s World Cup history.
