USA 4-1 Paraguay: Balogun brace inspires historic World Cup rout
Folarin Balogun struck twice as a rampant United States opened their home World Cup campaign in breathtaking fashion, dismantling Paraguay 4-1 at a star-studded Los Angeles Stadium.
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In front of a raucous crowd of 70,492 that included Hollywood A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise, Mauricio Pochettino’s side delivered a devastating first-half display to secure the nation’s biggest-ever victory in the tournament. A vintage playmaking masterclass from Christian Pulisic inspired a record-breaking three-goal halftime lead, effectively ending the contest before the break.
The tone for a dream American night was set after just seven minutes. Pulisic bamboozled two defenders on the left flank before sliding a dangerous ball across the box, which struck the outstretched foot of Paraguay’s Damian Bobadilla and flew into the back of the net.
The early breakthrough ignited the stadium and completely overwhelmed La Albirroja. Balogun first thought he had doubled the advantage inside the half-hour mark, only to see his effort correctly chalked off for offside. The Monaco striker didn’t have to wait long for redemption, however. Three minutes later, the unstoppable Pulisic carved open the Paraguayan backline once more, providing a perfectly weighted pass for Balogun to sweep home first time.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Balogun turned style into swagger with the goal of the night. Latching onto a clever through ball from Malik Tillman, the 24-year-old forward cut back beautifully inside the area and curled a sublime, left-footed effort into the far top corner to send the home support into absolute raptures.
The only dark cloud for the co-hosts arrived at the interval, when Pulisic was substituted by Sebastian Berhalter as a precaution after taking a heavy blow to his calf. Without their talisman, the USA initially struggled for the same offensive fluency, allowing Paraguay a brief route back into the game.
In the 73rd minute, South American substitute Mauricio capitalised on a flat-footed American defence, latching onto Julio Enciso’s clever pass to slide a low finish underneath Matt Freese.
Any creeping anxieties were firmly erased in the dying seconds of the game. Gio Reyna, who came off the bench to a warm ovation, put the final exclamation mark on a historic night. The 23-year-old midfielder glided gracefully into the box to finish off a multi-pass counter-attack, toe-flicking the ball past Orlando Gill to ensure the United States scored four goals in a World Cup match for the very first time.
