The United States men’s national team opened its home World Cup campaign with a statement. Mauricio Pochettino’s side dismantled Paraguay 4-1 in front of fans at Los Angeles Stadium on Friday night, scoring more goals in a single World Cup match than any American men’s team in tournament history.
The star-studded crowd included NFL stars like Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Derwin James Jr., Puka Nacua, and Jaxson Dart. Former Indianapolis Colts punter and current ESPN analyst Pat McAfee was also in attendance, and he came away from the experience with a bold take.
Pat McAfee Impressed by the USMNT’s Historic Night in World Cup
Paraguay’s Damián Bobadilla turned the ball into his own net in the seventh minute under pressure from Christian Pulisic, and the American team’s dominance was visible from the start of the match.
Folarin Balogun scored twice before halftime, in the 31st and 45th minutes, becoming the first American man to record a multi-goal game in a World Cup match since the inaugural tournament in 1930.
Pochettino removed Pulisic at the break, while the U.S. had a 3-0 lead, as a precaution after he took a knock in the first half, but the substitution hardly slowed the attack.
Maurício pulled one back for Paraguay in the 73rd minute, but Gio Reyna sealed it in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time with a stunning strike off the outside of his right foot that capped a historic evening.
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McAfee, posting from inside the stadium, immediately wrote on X, “We’re gonna win the World Cup. That’s so cool. Standard Chase of The Crown, I guess.”
We’re gonna win The World Cup..
That’s so cool
Standard Chase of The Crown, I guess https://t.co/jow6hD1ZDN pic.twitter.com/lXNWAq6d7m
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 13, 2026
Winning the tournament remains a long shot for the Americans, who are grouped with Australia and Turkey in Group D and would likely face heavyweights like France, Brazil, or Argentina later in the knockout rounds.
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However, the performance against Paraguay should give pause to anyone dismissing the USMNT as a sentimental host with limited upside. The team’s strong attacking firepower, relentless pressing under Pochettino, and the energy of a home crowd that treated a group-stage match as if it were a knockout game all suggest they are capable of making a deep run in the tournament.
Whether that translates into a quarterfinal, a semifinal, or something even bigger, as McAfee predicted, remains to be seen as the tournament progresses.
