U.S. Beats Paraguay 4-1 for Most Goals in a World Cup Match, Balogun Scores Twice
The U.S. Men's National Team opened its FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a 4-1 win over Paraguay on June 12, 2026, in front of 70,492 fans at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California. The four goals were the most the United States has ever scored in a World Cup match. Striker Folarin Balogun scored twice in the first half, becoming the first American to score two goals in a World Cup match since Bert Patenaude's hat trick in 1930, also against Paraguay.
The United States led inside 10 minutes when Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla turned a Weston McKennie pass attempt into his own net in the 7th minute. After an earlier Balogun goal was called back for offside, Balogun scored one that counted in the 31st minute from a Christian Pulisic cross, and added his second in first-half stoppage time, finishing a long ball from Malik Tillman to make it 3-0. It was the first time in program history that the U.S. led a World Cup match 3-0 at halftime.
Paraguay pulled one back in the 73rd minute through Mauricio, its only shot on goal of the match, as the United States outshot Paraguay 16-9. Substitute Gio Reyna, who entered in the 82nd minute, closed the scoring in the eighth minute of stoppage time with a curling strike with the outside of his right foot, his first World Cup goal. The win put the U.S. atop Group D, with group matches against Australia on June 19 in Seattle and Türkiye on June 25 in Los Angeles to follow.
Related: Mexico Beat South Africa 2-0 in 2026 World Cup Opener Marked by Record Three Red Cards
Source: U.S. Soccer
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国队前锋巴洛贡身穿国家队球衣在比赛中，摄于2026年3月美国队热身赛（资料照片，非6月12日世界杯现场）。Bryan Berlin 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: U.S. forward Folarin Balogun in action during a March 2026 USMNT friendly (file photo, not the June 12 World Cup match). Photo by Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
