To find a comparable moment in history for the United States’ triumph over Paraguay, one must look back to an era when World Cup teams withdrew due to the Great Depression, competing with leather balls stitched together by seams and laces.
The resounding 4-1 victory equals a 96-year-old record, establishing the largest margin of victory for the USA in a men’s World Cup match, having previously won 3-0 twice in the inaugural 1930 tournament, once against Belgium and again against Paraguay in a strikingly symmetrical fashion.
Friday’s four-goal performance also set a record for the most goals scored by the USA in a men’s World Cup. The game included a rapid-fire three-goal first half, which echoes the remarkable 45 minutes in 2002 when the USA led 3-0 against Portugal—a result that ESPN commentator Jack Edwards famously noted was “stopping traffic all over Europe”
This historic result will be etched in the record books for these reasons. However, it will resonate deeply with US fans due to the intangible elements that transcended the scoreline.
“I think we are winning a lot of fans, and adding fans for this sport,” Mauricio Pochettino expressed about his team’s performance. “I think it was a great match; was amazing for our fans to see this type of game.”
The USA is no longer the same laborious team that showcased grit and tenacity in past World Cups, although they did exhibit some of that resilience after allowing a second-half goal from Paraguay.
The hallmark of the USA’s opening victory was its fluidity. The midfield orchestrated play with ease, outmaneuvering and displacing defenders. The sequence of neat finishes rendered the Paraguayan own goal almost an afterthought, while the crowd of 70,492 at Los Angeles Stadium erupted with excitement.
“It’s pretty special to watch,” remarked Christian Pulisic, who was in excellent form before being substituted at halftime due to a minor injury, which was later dismissed as not serious. “It’s fun to look around and know that there’s different guys that can pull off these different skills and moves and things going on. It’s great. I feel like there’s such a good connection between us right now.”
The USA’s midfielders adeptly outmaneuvered Paraguay’s defensive line, leading manager Gustavo Alfaro to describe their performance as “This is a team that is complex, because they have answers to every element you throw at them,” He stated, “We knew they were a very complex rival. We knew they have coordination, broadness, triangulations, and we were not ready … They dominated technically, tactically and physically as well.”
One could easily argue this as the best World Cup performance by a USA men’s team to date. It also featured standout individual performances from US players, adding to its significance.
Pulisic emerged as the USA’s all-time leader for World Cup assists, proving dangerous throughout his first half on the field. Meanwhile, Folarin Balogun’s two goals made him the first US player to score multiple goals in a single World Cup match since 1930, when Bert Patenaude scored three against Paraguay.
Yet, in praising both Pulisic and Balogun, Pochettino stressed the team-oriented nature of the performance, quickly naming every starter and labeling their efforts as “You want to push me to talk about names, and it’s about the team … the collective approach,”
“Of course, we have talented players that you can observe … but one thing we need to praise is the collective effort.” he emphasized. “I felt like it was a real statement.”
This team-oriented strategy led to what Balogun referred to as a “I’m not one to speculate,” in Southern California. “I haven’t seen all of them.”
But could this be the best performance of all time?
“I’m not one to speculate,” Pulisic responded. “I haven’t seen all of them.”
