The USA defeated Paraguay in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup

 Right next to the stadium in Los Angeles, where the match took place, there is the Forum - a place where the Los Angeles Lakers impressed with their play in the 1980s. The US national team, inaugurating the 2026 World Cup in a match against Paraguay, with 70,492 spectators in the stands, decided to refer to the Lakers' style of play, known as Showtime. The Americans decisively defeated Paraguay 4-1, playing like crazy in the first half. This performance, as coach Pochettino announced before the match, was to be characterized by joy and commitment. And indeed, the US team played fantastically in the first half. They scored a goal in the 10th minute of the match. Tim Ream passed the ball to Alex Freeman, who in turn passed it to Weston McKenna, who passed it to Christian Pulisic. Pulisic played again to McKennie, and although he hit the defender, he scored a goal because the ball bounced into the net. The US team did not intend to stop there. Folarin Balogun, appearing for the national team for the first time at the World Cup, scored two goals in this part of the game. The first one came in the 31st minute, ending the action in which Pulisic took part. He scored the second goal just before the break when, following a pass from Malik Tillman, he passed the defender and shot beautifully into the short corner of the goal. Pulisic did not play in the second half and was replaced by Gio Reyna. Pulisic was probably taken off the field as a precaution, as he was heavily attacked by his opponents in the first half. The Paraguayan team played slightly better in the second half and scored a goal in the 73rd minute, taking advantage of a mistake by the US defense. Mauricio scored the goal.