US midfielder #07 Giovanni Reyna (C) celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal during the 2026 World Cup Group D football match between USA and Paraguay at the Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on June 12, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
The United States could scarcely have scripted a better start to their World Cup as a Folarin Balogun brace and Gio Reyna curler fired the co-hosts to a 4-1 drubbing of Paraguay in front of Hollywood royalty in Los Angeles on Friday.
The hosts took the lead in the tournament’s first game on US soil within seven minutes thanks to an own goal, and by the end of an utterly dominant half the home fans were in dreamland, their side up by three.
Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio and Paris Hilton were among a sold-out 70,492 crowd as the US – co-hosting the tournament with Mexico and Canada – piled wave after wave of attacks on the South Americans, with Reyna polishing off the win late in stoppage time after Mauricio had pulled one back.
The win and emphatic scoreline puts the US in a favorable position already to progress from Group D, which also contains Australia and Turkey.
