The United States opened their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over Paraguay, powered by a first-half double from striker Folarin Balogun, but the victory was tempered by concern over the fitness of Christian Pulisic.
The US broke through Paraguay’s defence in the seventh minute when Pulisic deftly split two players and found Weston McKennie, whose cross was kicked into the net by Damian Bobadilla for an own goal.
Shortly after the first-half hydration break, Pulisic raced with the ball up the left side and sent a perfect cross to Balogun, who angled his shot past the diving goalkeeper Orlando Gill for a 2-0 lead.
Balogun struck again on the stroke of halftime, taking a long pass and shaking off a sliding defender and hammering a left-footed shot into the top corner of the net to wrap up a flawless half for the home side.
Paraguay came out of the break with more intensity, and finally got on the board in the 73rd minute with a goal from substitute Mauricio, who took advantage of a defensive lapse by the US.
But the Americans continued to control the game and Gio Reyna scored from the edge of the box with the outside of his right foot in the closing action of the match.
The emphatic Group D win marked a dream start for the co-hosts, whose four goals were their most ever in a World Cup match. Balogun became the first U.S. player to score twice in a World Cup game since the 1930 tournament.
The US will again be favoured when they face Australia on June 19th in Seattle, while Paraguay will look to bounce back when they travel to Santa Clara to face Turkey.
“Massive thank you to the fans because the energy they gave to the team was amazing,” Pochettino said. “We can do amazing things if the fans are in this as well.”
Latest World Cup results
Canada 1-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina
United States 4-1 Paraguay.
