Three takeaways from the United States' historic World Cup opener

The United States rolled to a 4-1 win over Paraguay on Friday night, opening their 2026 World Cup campaign with their biggest-ever win on the world stage.

A brace from Folarin Balogun, plus an own goal and a golazo from Gio Reyna, capped off a dominant start-to-finish display from the Americans at Los Angeles's SoFi Stadium.

United States 🇺🇸 Starting XI vs Paraguay 🇵🇾 Freese; Ream ©, Richards, Freeman; A.Robinson, Adams, McKennie, Dest; Pulisic, Balogun, Tillman BENCH: Turner, Brady, Trusty, Reyna, Pepi, Aaronson, M.Robinson, Berhalter, Roldan, Arfsten, Wright, Weah, McKennie, Scally, Zendejas

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— SixOneFive Soccer (@sixonefivesoccer.com) June 12, 2026 at 6:47 PM

Here are three takeaways from the historic result.

Folarin Balogun is the unquestioned answer up top

Coming into the tournament, there had been questions about strikers. Would Ricardo Pepi's holdup play make him a better fit for this attack? Would the PSV attacker be a better fit with Christian Pulisic?

Folarin Balogun shut all those questions down. Regardless of the fact that the AS Monaco man had been one of the best hold-up strikers in France's Ligue 1 last season, he was more than a match for Paraguay's (previously) resolute backline, and brought the rest of the attack into play well.

Balogun touched the ball in the penalty area 11 times, more than Paraguay's entire team. He picked out a few key passes, and his interchange with Pulisic and Weston McKennie was crisp throughout. But his goals, though...

Balogun took no prisoners in front of goal. He becomes the first American striker to log a multi-goal game at a World Cup since 1930. This was truly one of the best performances ever at a World Cup from Balogun.

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Tim Ream rolls back the clock

Heading into the tournament, Tim Ream was one of the biggest question marks around this team. Closer to 39 years old than 38, the center back had struggled for Charlotte FC in MLS, and his lack of pace in the open field looked like a major weakness.

Against Paraguay, he didn't put a foot wrong. His distribution is always solid, but on Friday, he was one of the U.S.'s most dangerous passers, pulling apart the Paraguayan defense and regularly finding attackers in the final third.

Defensively, though, he looked a decade younger. He read virtually every play first. He was physically a match for Paraguay's attackers. And he even won a couple of foot races, refusing to be beaten for pace over the top.

If this is the level Ream will play at through this tournament, the United States are in much better shape.

A couple of lingering questions

Christian Pulisic was on fire to start the match, driving the ball at his defenders and setting up Balogun's first goal. He looked a threat to make something happen every time he got on the ball, a continuation of his performance against Germany.

The halftime substitution, therefore, was surprising.

Pulisic and Pochettino downplayed the issue after the match. It's probably just a precaution, as they said, but it's also an unusual moment to pull off a key player, hitting his form at the start of a crucial tournament. His status ahead of Friday's match against Australia will be the subject of much discussion.

And Tyler Adams' only blemish was a completely needless yellow card. With FIFA's strict yellow card suspension rules (two yellows in separate games equals an automatic suspension, wiped clean after the group stage and quarterfinals), he's now at risk of missing the final group match against Türkiye if he picks up a card on Friday. He'll need to manage a difficult match against the Socceroos perfectly.

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