U.S. routs Paraguay 4-1 in World Cup opener
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The U.S. men's national team crushed Paraguay 4-1 Friday night in their World Cup opener as co-hosts, delivering a dominant performance that exceeded expectations. Playing in front of a home crowd, the Americans controlled the match with a convincing display that signals a strong start to the tournament. The lopsided victory marks an encouraging beginning for a team that has often struggled in major competitions, though Paraguay offered little resistance throughout the game.
The U.S. dominated Paraguay 4-1 Friday night in the World Cup debut for the co-hosts.
It was a better performance than U.S. fans could have hoped for.
State of play: The U.S. men's national team, playing in front of a loud, pro-U.S crowd in Los Angeles, were aggressive from start to finish.
The four goals, two from striker Folarin Balogun, one from midfielder Gio Reyna, and an own goal by Paraguayan defender Damian Bobadilla, were the most tallied by a U.S. men's team in a World Cup.
The intrigue: American players showed the creativity, crisp passing and kind of nifty one-on-one moves that U.S. fans have been accustomed to seeing from traditional soccer powerhouses in Europe and South America.
Threat level: Paraguay resorted to rough play at times, racking up five yellow cards.
Star U.S. forward Christian Pulisic was subbed out at halftime as a precaution after getting kicked in the left calf.
Stunning stat: U.S. center-back Chris Richards completed all 83 of his passes, the most passes with 100% accuracy by any player in a World Cup game since 1966, per the sports analytics company Opta.
What's next: The U.S. plays Australia next Friday in Seattle.