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By Megan Armstrong
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The United States men's national team just put on a masterclass.
Fans at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, couldn't have asked for a better 2026 FIFA World Cup opener — the first men's World Cup match played on U.S. soil since 1994 — as the USMNT dismantled Paraguay 4-1.
The U.S.'s first goal came courtesy of Damián Bobadilla's own goal in the seventh minute. Then, star attacker Christian Pulisic, nicknamed "Captain America," assisted on Folarin Balogun's beautiful goal in the 31st minute. Balogun notched a first-half brace with an absolute classic shot to give the USMNT a 3-0 advantage just before halftime. Gio Reyna's bending trivela just before the match's end was the exclamation point.
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Pulisic's assist brought his all-time World Cup assist total to three, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo's two assists across six World Cup tournaments. This is Pulisic's second World Cup, having debuted at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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Of course, it should be noted that Ronaldo has eight World Cup goals to Pulisic's one, and Ronaldo is an all-time great player, while Pulisic is still coming into his all-world potential. But that isolated stat does underscore why Ronaldo wanted to appear in his sixth World Cup at age 41 this summer: this tournament, specifically a World Cup trophy, is the only blemish on his resume.
As for the USMNT, Pulisic isn't the only player who made a mark in the world football record books against Paraguay.
Balogun became the first USMNT player to have a multi-goal performance in a World Cup match since 1930, per ESPN Insights, and the end result marks the first time ever that the U.S. men have recorded a four-goal match at any World Cup, per FOX.
The USMNT will have to find a way to bottle this momentum, as they won't take the field again until their match against Australia in Seattle on June 19.
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