USA 4:1 Paraguay | The tournament’s first own goal at the 2026 World Cup, Balogun bags a brace

Updated: 2026-06-17 | Live data should be confirmed against official announcements

The 2026 World Cup officially ignited the Group D action on June 13 Taiwan time (June 12 local US time), with hosts USA taking on South American heavyweights Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, on the outskirts of Los Angeles. This was the host nation’s first appearance of the tournament, and in the end the USA cruised to a 4:1 win, claiming their opening group-stage victory and turning in a handsome opening-day scorecard amid a fervent home atmosphere.

The USA’s lead came quickly and dramatically. In the 7th minute, the USA pressed high up the pitch, and the pressure from Christian Pulisic and his teammates forced Paraguay’s midfielder Damián Bobadilla into a mishandling of the ball in front of his own goal; the ball rolled awkwardly into the net, becoming the first own goal of this World Cup, and the USA led 1:0. For the hosts, this slightly fortunate goal set the tone for the whole match.

The real protagonist was USA forward Folarin Balogun. In the 31st minute, Antonee Robinson found Pulisic with a long ball, and the latter laid it off for the onrushing Balogun, who stretched the lead to 2:0; before the end of the first half, Balogun again received the ball on the edge of the box, turned, and curled it with his left foot into the far corner, completing his brace before the break, with the USA heading into halftime 3:0 ahead by a wide margin. This also made Balogun the first USA player to score two goals in a single World Cup match since 1930.

In the second half, Paraguay did not simply lay down their arms. In the 73rd minute, Paraguay launched an attack from a set piece in the final third; Enciso teed it up, and Mauricio drilled a low left-footed shot into the net, pulling it back to 1:3 and restoring a measure of pride for the South American side. But the USA’s bench depth quickly provided the answer: in the 90+8th minute of stoppage time, substitute Giovanni Reyna received a pass and, from the edge of the box, traced an arc with the outside of his right foot, the ball duly nestling into the net to seal the final score at 4:1. This was also the most goals the USA have ever scored in a single World Cup match in their history, having never previously scored more than 3 in a single World Cup game.

From the run of play, the host advantage was quite clear; whether it was the fans packing the stadium in support, the team’s overall cohesion, or the intensity of the high press, the USA showed a state of thorough preparation, and Balogun’s two goals further demonstrated that this young forward already has the ability to shoulder the role of attacking focal point on the big stage. For Paraguay, a heavy defeat in their opening match amid a hostile away atmosphere, compounded by several crucial errors in handling the ball, sharply increases the pressure to advance — Group D’s four teams are the USA, Paraguay, Australia and Turkey, and Paraguay’s next match, against Turkey on June 19 Taiwan time, is a must for points if they are to keep their hopes of qualifying alive.

Fans who want to experience this World Cup fever in person can first take a look at our 2026 World Cup Canada Viewing Guide to understand the differences in venues and transport between the two Canadian host cities of Vancouver and Toronto. As for broadcasts in Taiwan, platforms such as Chunghwa Telecom MOD and ELTA TV all carry World Cup matches; the actual time slots and signal are still best confirmed against each platform’s official announcements.