Balogun brace fires USA to 4-1 rout of Paraguay in World Cup opener

The United States could not have dreamed of a better start to their home World Cup, sweeping aside Paraguay 4-1 in front of 70,492 fans at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Mauricio Pochettino's side were ahead inside seven minutes through a Ramon Sosa-pressured own goal credited to Diego Bobadilla, and never looked back in their joint-best result in tournament history.

Balogun takes centre stage

Folarin Balogun was the headline act. The striker bundled in Christian Pulisic's deflected cross from 14 yards on 31 minutes, then collected a Malik Tillman through ball deep in first-half stoppage time (45+5) before lashing into the top corner. He became the first American to score twice in a World Cup match since the inaugural 1930 edition.

Reyna seals the night

Paraguay pulled one back when Mauricio struck on 73 minutes, briefly threatening a comeback. But Gio Reyna restored order in style, curling home with the outside of his right foot deep in stoppage time (90+8) to cap a dominant evening.

The result instantly installed the hosts as Group D favourites and sent a message that Pochettino's project is peaking at the right moment. Pulisic pulled the strings throughout, while Paraguay were left to rue a sloppy opening that effectively decided the contest before the half hour.