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USMNT crushes Paraguay 4-1
The United States men's national team opened its 2026 FIFA World Cup home campaign with a 4-1 win over Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood on Friday, with the match drawing a reported crowd of 70,492.
“the "Most-watched USMNT FIFA Men’s World Cup telecast in English-language U.S. history"”
Fox Sports said the 4-1 win over Paraguay was the "Most-watched USMNT FIFA Men’s World Cup telecast in English-language U.S. history" with 15.986 million viewers, while Deadline reported the telecast delivered 15.986 million viewers across Fox, Fox One and Tubi.
NBC News described a near-perfect first 45 minutes in which Folarin Balogun scored twice and Christian Pulisic ran roughshod over Paraguayan defenders as the U.S. recorded a dominating 4-1 victory.
In the match itself, the U.S. took the lead on an own goal in the seventh minute when the ball ricocheted off Paraguayan midfielder Damián Bobadilla and into the net, and Balogun extended the lead to 2-0 in the 31st minute.
Gio Reyna added the exclamation point in stoppage time with a goal that NBC News described as coming from about 17 yards out, curling into the top corner to put the U.S. up 4-1.
Quotes, coverage, and next test
Christian Pulisic said after the match, "All in all, just an incredible start," while NBC News reported he was subbed off at halftime after being kicked in the calf late in the first half and that the team "didn’t want to take any chances."
Pulisic also told reporters, "I’m really hoping that it’s nothing," and NBC News framed his precaution as a reason for being optimistic about being on the pitch for America’s next match.
The New York Times quoted U.S. defender Chris Richards saying, "I mean, my whole life I feel like I’ve envisioned it," and it added that the opener featured "thunderous chants of “U-S-A”" before the U.S. surged to a 4-1 finish.
Deadline said the U.S. next match is against Australia on June 19, and it tied the record audience to the game being held in the U.S. with "no time zone difference in play."
CNN reported that after the 4-1 win, the Americans would face Australia at 3 p.m. ET on June 19 in Seattle, and it noted Paraguay would play Turkey on June 19 in Santa Clara, California.
Group D implications and stakes
With the three points from the 4-1 win, US Soccer said the U.S. "sits atop the table in Group D for the moment," while it also noted that Australia and Türkiye had not played yet and would face each other on Saturday, June 13 at BC Place Vancouver.
“sits atop the table in Group D for the moment”
ESPN’s game analysis highlighted that the U.S. scored four goals for the first time in program history in a World Cup match, and it described Folarin Balogun’s second goal as a finish after Christian Pulisic squared it from the left.
Fox Sports pointed to the tournament context by noting that at the last FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the U.S. scored just three goals in four games, but it said the team equaled that output in 45 minutes of the 2026 event.
Looking ahead, Olympics.com listed the Group D schedule with the U.S. vs Australia on Friday 19 June at 12:00 local at Lumen Field, Seattle, and it listed Türkiye vs United States on Thursday 25 June at 19:00 local at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood.
CNN also set the immediate stakes by describing the U.S. next game against Australia as the next step after a commanding performance, and it tied the result to the pressure of a team that had not advanced past the first knockout round in 24 years.
