Soccer scores: the United States opened the 2026 World Cup with a 4-1 win over Paraguay in Los Angeles. The co-hosts did it in front of 70,492 fans, and they did it by scoring three times before halftime.
Pulisic Sets the Tone
Weston McKennie put the US ahead less than 10 minutes into the match after a pass from Christian Pulisic. That start matched the tone Mauricio Pochettino asked for before kickoff, when he told his players to bring joy and focus.
Folarin Balogun then took over the first half. He scored in the 31st minute from another Pulisic cross, then finished again with the final kick of the half after running onto a ball from Malik Tillman.
Paraguay Finds One
Paraguay improved after halftime and forced the US to defend deeper. The visitors finally broke through in the 73rd minute, when substitute Maurício finished a sequence that began with a restart by goalkeeper Orlando Gill and moved through Miguel Almirón and Julio Enciso.
Christian Pulisic came off at halftime, but the US had already built enough margin to control the rest of the opener. Paraguay’s late goal trimmed the shutout, not the result, and the crowd in Los Angeles still saw the hosts start the tournament with a clear win.
US Start With Margin
The result gives the United States the kind of opening it wanted as one of the World Cup co-hosts. It also showed the team could turn early pressure into a three-goal first half instead of letting the match drift after McKennie’s opener.
That is the cleaner part of this scoreline for a US side that had been announced as a co-host before the tournament. The next tests will ask more of Matt Freese and the back line, but this opener left the Americans with four goals, a 4-1 win, and a home crowd that saw the tournament start on their side.
