USA
ParaguayThe contest was decided in a remarkable first half in which USA pressed relentlessly, exploited Paraguay's inability to build cleanly from the back, and converted three chances before the interval. Balogun's double made him the first American to score twice in a World Cup game since 1930, a statistic that tells you everything about how completely the hosts dominated the occasion. Pochettino called the first 45 minutes simply 'amazing', and for once a manager's post-match words were not generous overstatement.
USA
USA were electric from first whistle at SoFi Stadium — a Damian Bobadilla own goal in the seventh minute lit the fuse, and Folarin Balogun snuffed out any doubt with two clinical strikes before half-time, the second a thunderbolt into the top corner. Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams controlled the midfield heartbeat exactly as expected, and when Gio Reyna curled in a sublime stoppage-time finish with the outside of his boot, 70,000 fans inside SoFi knew they had witnessed something historic: no USMNT side had ever scored four goals in a World Cup match before.
Paraguay
Paraguay arrived with their unbeaten qualifying record and Alfaro's trusted deep defensive block, but an early own goal knocked the architecture out of shape before the plan had even been executed. They showed enough character to pull one back through Mauricio on 73 minutes — proof they were not merely tourists — but that moment of pride was largely a footnote to an afternoon of sustained retreat and concession.