World Cup recap: U.S. defeats Paraguay with dominant offensive display

Tickets to watch the U.S. dominate Paraguay 4-1 on Friday night at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium cost a fortune. But roughly nine miles north, fans such as Jose Santiago and Ivan Gonzalez enjoyed the match at a fraction of the price.

The pair each paid $10 for a ticket to watch the Stars and Stripes flourish in their first World Cup game on home soil in 32 years on big screens at the packed Coliseum on Day 2 of the Los Angeles FIFA Fan Festival.

“We bought these tickets [at the] last minute, not knowing what to expect,” said Santiago, of Fullerton. “And so far, we’ve been blown away. We definitely want to come back.”

It was a game eight years in the making. The first World Cup match on American soil in more than a generation and the start of a tournament that has the potential to alter the direction of soccer in this country for the next generation.

And the U.S. seized on every bit of that opportunity Friday, with Christian Pulisic setting up two goals and Folarin Balogun scoring twice in his World Cup debut, sparking an impressive 4-1 victory over Paraguay at a sold-out SoFi Stadium that was far more one-sided than the score indicated.

“This being in America, having this crowd around us, seeing the red, white, and blue, all the red-and-white striped shirts in the crowd, it’s awesome,” Pulisic said. “It’s really pushing us forward. We just hope it continues like that.”

The U.S., which needed a big effort to start the tournament, was on the front foot from the start, going in front to stay in the seventh minute — although it was Paraguayan midfielder Damián Bobadilla who got credit for the goal after stepping in front of Balogun and deflecting in a cross from Weston McKennie.

U.S. 3, Paraguay 1 — 73rd minute

Paraguay’s Mauricio found some open space and sniped a shot past U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese to cut into the U.S. lead.

The deep kick by Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gil found his teammates just outside of the box, where they fed the ball to an open Mauricio, who sent the ball to the far side lower corner past a diving Freese.

United States 3, Paraguay 0 — 50th minute

U.S. star Christian Pulisic did not start the second half after being subbed out by Sebastian Berhalter. It wasn’t immediately clear why Pulisic was subbed out. He didn’t appear to be injured at the end of the first half.

U.S. Soccer told Fox Sports’ Jenny Taft that coach Mauricio Pochettino will address why Pulisic was subbed out after the game.

Pulisic assisted on Folarin Balogun’s first goal and helped set up the first goal that went off the foot of Paraguay’s Damian Bobadilla.

United States 3, Paraguay 0 — 45th minute +5

In stoppage time on the final play of the first half, Folarin Balogun beat a sliding defender in full sprint before cutting back in the box and finding the top corner of the net for his second goal of the match.

It secured the first three-goal halftime lead in U.S. World Cup history.

The goal capped a dominant first half for the U.S., which had four shots on goal and controlled the ball for 72% of the half. The United States’ speed and aggressiveness on offense has created constant problems for the Paraguay defense.

United States 2, Paraguay 0 — 31st minute

Christian Pulisic set up another U.S. goal, using his speed to move the ball quickly to the top of the box before finding striker Folarin Balogun, who kicked it past Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gil to give the U.S. a commanding lead.

The U.S. continues to generate decent scoring chances, with their speedy midfielders and forwards causing problems for the Paraguay defense.

United States 1, Paraguay 0 — Seventh minute

Christian Pulisic broke through two defenders and fed the ball to Weston McKennie, whose pass went off the foot of Paraguay’s Damian Bobadilla for an own goal and an early U.S. lead in the seventh minute.

Pulisic took advantage of great feed from midfield, then kicked the ball between two defenders and sprinted past them to regain control the ball before making a centering pass to McKennie. Another pass by McKennie then went off the foot of Bobadilla.

The United States and Paraguay are underway at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium). It’s the first World Cup game played on U.S. soil in 32 years.

Both teams were aggressive in the first three minutes of the match in front of a loud and exuberant crowd.

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National anthem at the World Cup before the U.S.-Paraguay match.

The U.S. men’s soccer team will play its first World Cup game on home soil in 32 years Friday night when it takes on Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood. Here’s a look at some of the festivities that happened before the game.

Katy Perry performs during the World Cup opening ceremony Friday before the start of the U.S.-Paraguay match at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) on Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Katy Perry performs during the World Cup opening ceremony before the start of the U.S.-Paraguay match at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) on Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center right, stands next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino before the start of U.S. vs. Paraguay.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

A stage is placed on the field during the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) before the U.S.-Paraguay match on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Future and Tyla perform during the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) before the U.S.-Paraguay match on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Tyla performs during the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) before the U.S.-Paraguay match on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Tom Cruise and David Beckham wave before the start of the U.S.-Paraguay World Cup match on Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Rema performs during the opening ceremony for the World Cup match between the U.S. at Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A giant inflatable World Cup trophy is placed on the pitch before the U.S.-Paraguay match at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A giant flag is rolled out over the field at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) before the U.S.-Paraguay match on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Fans watch during the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) before the U.S.-Paraguay match on Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. fans march toward Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood before the start of the U.S. vs. Paraguay World Cup match on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. fans march toward Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood before the start of the U.S. vs. Paraguay World Cup match on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. fans march toward Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood before the start of the U.S. vs. Paraguay World Cup match on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Fans walk under a giant U.S. flag before the start of the U.S.-Paraguay World Cup match at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Fans march under a giant U.S. flag outside Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) before the U.S.-Paraguay World Cup match on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Fans walk under a giant American flag outside Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) before the start of the U.S.-Paraguay World Cup match on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood will play host to U.S. vs. Paraguay in the World Cup on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Mauricio Pochettino knows the joy of making a World Cup roster. But he also knows the misery of being left off one.

In the first case, you want to celebrate; in the second, you want to be left alone.

The U.S. coach said he kept both emotions in mind when informing players they had — or had not — made the roster for next month’s tournament, a roster that was formally announced Tuesday during a sun-splashed, made-for-TV rally in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, about 13 miles from where July’s World Cup final will be played.

NEW YORK — Christian Pulisic looked exhausted as he stepped from a yellow cab on the edge of Manhattan’s financial district for a promotional event arranged by his shoe sponsor.

A day earlier, he had been booed off the field after going scoreless in his final 17 games with AC Milan. And as Pulisic’s private jet made its way from Italy to New York, the club’s coach, sporting director and two other top executives were sacked.

More men have been elected president of the United States than have played for the U.S. in a World Cup game on home soil.

It is among the rarest of achievements in a country that has achieved so much.

Two dozen Americans have flown to the moon, 116 have sat on the Supreme Court, 25 have run a mile in under 3:51 and 76 have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

It was a festive scene outside Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood on Friday afternoon as thousands of fans flowed in for the first 2026 World Cup match in Southern California.

A showdown between the U.S. and Paraguay attracted people from as close as El Segundo and as far away as Paraguay, whose fans showed up in strong numbers for the country’s first men’s World Cup match since 2010.

The sun was shining, the smell of sausages cooking filtered through the air and the sound of vuvuzelas punctuated the music blasting from portable speakers.

Police ticketed multiple people outside the stadium’s gates for illegally selling alcohol, and some fans appeared to be drunk by 4 p.m. But the overall vibe was excitement and celebration as people in red, white and blue jerseys made their way to the stadium for a sporting event that hasn’t been held in the United States in 32 years.

Chris Richards was a lock for the World Cup in 2022. As a big, mobile and physical central defender who had played at the top levels of European club soccer, he was just what the U.S. needed on its back line.

Then two months before the tournament, he was sidelined because of a hamstring strain that wouldn’t heal. The day before the World Cup roster was announced, a devastated Richards said he wouldn’t be ready.

Fast-forward nearly four years. Richards was once again a lock for the World Cup when he tore two ligaments in his left ankle two weeks before the U.S. roster would be announced. The circumstances were eerily similar — and equally painful.

In many ways, the most ambitious World Cup in history — which kicked off Thursday in Mexico City — has inspired more angst than anticipation, more fear than fervor.

The competition, returning to North America for the first time in more than three decades, has expanded to 48 teams and 104 matches, to be played over 39 days in 16 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The complex planning was eight years in the making.

Yet even before the competition opened with Mexico facing South Africa at the iconic Estadio Azteca, it has been marred by a number of controversies that threaten to overshadow the soccer and cloud the tournament’s legacy.

Adam Shaivitz is the rare American who played soccer growing up and has attended multiple World Cups.

He went to his first World Cup in 1994, when he was a senior in high school on the East Coast and the event was held in the U.S.

Since then, he’s gone to World Cup tournaments in Germany, France and South Africa. On Friday, he and his brother, Jeff, traveled by Uber from the South Bay — Adam lives in Hermosa Beach, Jeff in El Segundo — to Inglewood for the U.S.-Paraguay match at Los Angeles Stadium. They were excited to attend a match so close to home.

“It’s very close to where we live,” Adam said. “The ticket prices are a little unreasonable, but I think we justified it by saying we don’t have to travel.”

Jeff said he’s “excited for a victory” by the U.S. men’s national team.

“L.A. is a great city and a great place to host the games,” he said.

The first time a World Cup game was played in the U.S., the opening ceremony featured Oprah Winfrey tumbling off a stage and Diana Ross shanking a penalty shot several yards wide of the goal.

“At the time, it was a little bit of a panic,” said Alan Rothenberg, the man who organized that tournament. “But ultimately, once the competition started, it flowed nicely.”

So nicely that the 1994 World Cup remains the most successful in history, averaging crowds of 68,991 a match and earning a $50-million surplus for the host committee. Both figures are still records 32 years later.

L.A. Times soccer writer Kevin Baxter and L.A. Times Sports columnist Mirjam Swanson share their initial impressions of the World Cup ahead of the Group D showdown between the United States and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) on Friday.

Julian Ryerson hadn’t learned to walk the last time Norway played in the World Cup. He was just 7 months old then, and if he had known his country was going to go 0 for the 21st century when it came to World Cup qualifying, he might have considered pursuing a sport other than soccer.

But that drought will finally end next week when Norway plays in the World Cup for the first time in nearly three decades.

“It’s been a long wait, especially for the Norwegian people,” he said. “They’ve been waiting as long as I am old. So yeah, I think everybody’s ready.”

Christopher Fincke was in town from San Antonio on Friday afternoon to support the U.S. in its match against Paraguay alongside several family members.

Draped in red, white and blue, the group all wore matching America-themed cowboy hats in a nod to their Texas roots.

“U.S. men’s national team, baby! Woo, let’s go! USA, USA, USA, USA!” Christopher led in chanting outside Los Angeles Stadium. “We’re all from Texas. ... We flew in, we’re visiting our son and we’re gonna make it a family experience.”

With its World Cup opener just four days away, the U.S. team moved into its temporary home in Irvine on Monday, where the players found thousands of new Southern California neighbors waiting in line to watch them kick a ball.

After the U.S. announced that Orange County Great Park would be its base for at least the group stage of the tournament, the City of Irvine held a raffle for passes to see the team train in its only public workout.

Thirty-two thousand people applied and 5,500 received access on a warm Monday morning to watch the team rush through a light 45-minute practice that was notable primarily because it was the first in which injured center back Chris Richards was fully involved. Richards tore two ligaments in his left ankle playing for Crystal Palace, his English club team, on May 17 and hadn’t played or fully trained since. The team is rushing to get him ready in the hopes he can play at some point in the three-game group stage.

Anna Carter, 21, is originally from Germany but she lives in Arizona now. She came to L.A. this week for two purposes: to attend the USA-Paraguay World Cup match and to educate the American masses.

She stood outside Los Angeles Stadium on Friday with a large cardboard sign scrawled with the words “it’s called football, not soccer,” a cause she said she feels very strongly about.

“I tell the Americans that it’s called football and not soccer,” Carter, who wore a USA jersey said. “I’m here to share this important opinion.”

The 10th in an occasional series of profiles on Southern California athletes who have flourished in their post-playing careers.

The play started innocently enough with Tab Ramos bouncing a one-hop pass to Paul Caligiuri, who played the ball off his chest 40 yards from goal. But everything changed when a Trinidadian player stepped lazily out to meet him.

Guillermo Ramirez, 57, left Paraguay on Tuesday on a four-leg flight to Los Angeles. He finally arrived early Friday morning, just hours before his home country was set to face the U.S. in L.A.’s first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“I didn’t even take a shower,” he said, laughing about how close he was cutting it.

He was joined by his daughter Mia, 21, who was visiting from her home in Washington, D.C.

They arrived outside Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood — typically known as SoFi Stadium — nearly four hours before the match was scheduled to start, eager to cheer for Paraguay.

“I came all the way here to see Paraguay. We qualified to the World Cup after 16 years so we are very happy about it,” said Mia, who was a small child last time Paraguay played in a World Cup, in 2010 in South Africa.

The duo, who wore matching red-and-white-striped Paraguay jerseys, said they are staying in California for about 20 days and will be attending the South American country’s other group stage matches in Santa Clara, Calif.

Mia said she was not impressed by the level of enthusiasm for the World Cup among Americans.

“From our point of view, the World Cup is the biggest event in the world,” she said. “[You] don’t really feel the World Cup as much here.”

Representatives from the U.S., Mexico and Canada collaborated to win the right to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

(Davide Barco / For The Times)

Hours before the 2018 World Cup kicked off in Russia, delegates representing more than 200 FIFA member states filed into a massive conference center rising above the left bank of the Moscow River.

There they would be voting to pick a host for the 2026 tournament and the ballot held just two candidates: Morocco, bidding for the World Cup for the fifth time, and a joint bid from the U.S., Mexico and Canada, marking the first time three countries offered to share host duties.

Follow along for live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday. Get the latest news, results and highlights from the 48-team, 39-day tournament.

Soccer

FIFA World Cup Day 2 recap: Canada plays to draw; U.S. wins its opener

Follow along for live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday. Get the latest news, results and highlights from the 48-team, 39-day tournament.

June 12, 2026

Times reporter Kevin Baxter and Times en Español reporters Eduard Cauich and Jad El Reda help readers prepare for the World Cup.

You have attended many World Cups in your careers. What advice do you have for fans attending for the first time?

Baxter: Don’t treat it like just another sporting event because it’s not. This is not a World Series or even a Super Bowl. It’s the world’s Super Bowl. So drink in the passion, enjoy the international flavor. Get there early and stay late because it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway, with Mexico defeating South Africa and South Korea prevailing over Czechia in Group A play Thursday.

The tournament headed north Friday, with Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina playing to a 1-1 draw in Toronto before the United States opened Group D play with a 4-1 win over Paraguay.

Here’s everything you need to know about matches being played on Friday and Saturday in the 48-team tournament across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

After a break of more than three decades, the FIFA World Cup returns to North America where it will be shared by the continent’s three countries, the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It will be the largest and most complex tournament in history, with 48 teams playing 104 games in 16 cities over 39 days.

But it hasn’t been without its controversies. High ticket prices and exorbitant transportation and parking fees have angered fans and drawn the attention of politicians and state attorneys general. Visa restrictions have blocked residents from four qualifying nations from entering the U.S. and fear of immigration agents has discouraged fans of other countries from coming.

For the U.S. and Mexico the goal is to get beyond the quarterfinals, the high-water mark for both countries in the modern era. Canada, meanwhile, will play in its third World Cup looking for its first win.