From Brooklyn to SoFi: Balogun’s Brace Fuels USA’s Biggest World Cup Win Ever

Paraguay’s Defense Crumbles: USA Deliver 4-1 Masterclass at SoFi Stadium

Co-hosts USA kicked off their 2026 World Cup campaign in style, dismantling Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi Stadium to deliver their most dominant World Cup performance ever.

The Americans wasted no time asserting control. Pressure from the USA attack forced Paraguay’s Bodadilla into an own goal in just the 7th minute, giving the hosts an early lead. Folarin Balogun thought he had doubled it in the 28th minute, but his finish was ruled out for offside.

Balogun made no mistake minutes later. Christian Pulisic tore down the left flank and picked out Balogun, who slotted home to make it 2-0 in the 31st minute. Right on the stroke of halftime, Malik Tillman threaded a defense-splitting pass to Balogun, who beat his marker and curled a shot into the far corner to complete his brace and put USA 3-0 up at the break.

Paraguay, who went unbeaten against Brazil and Argentina in CONMEBOL qualifying and boasted South America’s best defensive record, finally pulled one back in the 73rd minute through Mauricio after a Julio Enciso setup. Any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out in stoppage time when Giovanni Reyna curled in a stunning trivela to seal a 4-1 victory in the 90+8th minute.

The win is historic for the USMNT. It’s only their 10th World Cup victory ever, and the first time they’ve scored four goals in a single World Cup match. Balogun’s two goals also marked the first multi-goal game by a USA player at the World Cup since 1930. From Brooklyn to the bright lights of SoFi, the Arsenal academy product is cooking for the Stars and Stripes on home soil.