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U.S. routs Paraguay 4-1 in World Cup opener

The U.S. men's national team, playing in front of a pro-U.S crowd in L.A., were aggressive from start to finish.

U.S. team players Christ Richards and Folarin Balogun celebrated in the U.S. team's 4-1 win over Paraguay.

Folarin Balogun and Chris Richards celebrate after Balogun scored the U.S.'s third goal against Paraguay in the World Cup Friday night. Photo: John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images

Geopolitics & international conflict

<p>The U.S. dominated Paraguay 4-1 Friday night in the World Cup debut for the co-hosts.</p><ul><li>It was a better performance than U.S. fans <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="could have hoped for" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/06/09/usmnt-world-cup-pulisic-balogun-pepi" data-vars-content-id="cdf306d0-9e55-4e30-90cf-fa85a6ea520c" data-vars-headline="U.S. routs Paraguay 4-1 in World Cup opener" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/06/09/usmnt-world-cup-pulisic-balogun-pepi" target="_self">could have hoped for</a>.</li></ul>

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U.S. routs Paraguay 4-1 in World Cup opener