The United States matched a great achievement that Spain last reached 24 years ago, when they won the World Cup by beating Paraguay.
The United States kicked off their 2026 World Cup journey with an exciting 4-1 win over Paraguay, breaking a 24-year Spanish record in the process. Mauricio Pochettino will be happy with how his team played, scoring three goals in the first half and starting the tournament on a high note.
The first goal actually came by accident when Paraguay’s Damian Bobadilla accidentally scored an own goal. Then, Folarin Balogun added two more goals before halftime. In the second half, Paraguay improved and managed to score a goal just after the second water break, thanks to Mauricio. But as the game was wrapping up, Giovanni Reyna scored a fourth goal for the USA, sealing a strong win.
Before the tournament, Paraguay was known for their tough defense and only let in 10 goals during their 18 South American qualifying games—only Ecuador did better with 5 goals conceded. So, this loss will be disappointing and might make it harder for Paraguay to move on to the knockout rounds.
This big 4-1 win also marks the first time since 2002 that a team has done this against Paraguay. Back then, Spain beat them 3-1 in South Korea, and since that game, Paraguay hadn’t let in more than one goal in any World Cup match across 10 games.
The USA will be proud to show off their attacking skills, but they know they still need to work on their defense as they weren’t really tested this match. With this win, the United States is in a good position to advance from their group, likely at least in third place, unless they have a tough time in their upcoming games against Australia and Turkey.