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Ryan S. Clark
Multiple Authors
The U.S. men’s national team opened its 2026 World Cup by scoring the most goals it has ever scored in a World Cup, with a 4-1 win against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
An own goal from Damián Bobadilla along with two goals from Folarin Balogun saw the U.S. build a three-goal lead going into halftime with Mauricio scoring Paraguay’s lone goal before Giovanni Reyna’s late goal brought the lead back to three goals.
With the Americans sitting atop Group D as Australia and Türkiye are set to play Saturday, here’s a look at who shined brightest in a dominant World Cup opener that puts the U.S. in an early strong position to advance to the knockout rounds.
Manager rating (out of 10)
Mauricio Pochettino, 7 — Getting Chris Richards back into the lineup allowed Pochettino to have his first-choice XI in a game that saw them look strong in numerous areas. And though this was a game the U.S. was favored to win, how many times has that been the case only to see the U.S. come up short or not at all?
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, 5 = average)
GK Matt Freese, 4 — His first real test came in the opening two minutes when Diego Gomez tried finding an angle only for Freese to get in the way. Freese didn’t really face another strong threat until the second half when Mauricio’s goal trimmed the lead to 3-1.
RB Alex Freeman, 6 — Freeman initially had a bit of a quieter game with most of the Americans’ attacks coming down the middle and on the left. It was also that way on defense until he was caught trying to get back into position before Mauricio’s goal.
CB Chris Richards, 5 — Missing the pre-World Cup friendlies against Senegal and Germany through injury led to questions about how he’d look. He was beaten by a half step on Paraguay’s first shot on goal before finding comfort in a game that saw him pose a strong threat on corner kicks. And though he had some strong moments, he was beaten on the ball that set up the pass that saw Paraguay cut the lead to 3-1.
CB Tim Ream, 6 — Ream was also caught out on that first shot that Freese stopped within the first few minutes. However, he was involved with those long, direct balls that facilitated play at times on the left while also doing his part to get in front of those shots that didn’t make their way on net.
LB Antonee Robinson, 6 — At this rate, someone is going to be tempted to offer Fulham a hefty sum of money for his services. This game showed why. His through balls, pacey play, 1-on-1 battle wins and positioning made him and everything the U.S. did down the left such a problem.
CM Weston McKennie, 7 — Where do you start? There was the positioning he had when his shot that deflected off Bobadilla led to the first goal. But it wasn’t just that. McKennie’s versatility was arguably his greatest strength in a game that saw him operate wherever he could find space.
CM Tyler Adams, 6 — Adams was consistently present whenever the U.S. needed a reset on possession or was trying to gain control. His would-be assist on Balogun’s disallowed goal also reinforced how he was able to get into attack when needed.
AM Sergiño Dest, 5 — Dest had his moments on the right that provided the U.S. with another way to attack when it wasn’t driving play down the middle or on the left.
AM Malik Tillman, 7 — Could he have had a goal? Yes. But his through ball on Balogun’s second goal for a 3-0 lead is going to be the detail that stands out to most. Overall, Tillman gave the U.S. a box-to-box option that not only worked well in tandem with Adams to retain possession while being an attacking threat before moving to the left side at halftime.
AM Christian Pulisic, 8 — Maybe Rafael Leão’s impending departure could see AC Milan move him to the left. Because that’s where he has continued to look the most dangerous, in those exchanges with Robinson down the wing in addition to when he drifted inside to create opportunities — like the one that led to Balogun’s goal — alongside McKennie and Tillman before he was replaced to start the second half.
ST Folarin Balogun, 8 — The way the AS Monaco striker grabbed his brace came back to how he worked to be in the strongest possible position. He had quite a few runs that saw him add another dimension in attack, which came into focus when Tillman’s through ball led to him finding space, hesitating and firing a curler for a 2-0 lead.
Substitutes (players introduced after 70 minutes = no rating)
CM Sebastian Berhalter (Pulisic, 45′), 5 — He was moved to the box-to-box role and helped the U.S. keep its shape whether it was in attack or on defense.
CM Giovanni Reyna (Tillman, 82′), NR — Reyna was able to provide the U.S. another option down the middle with fatigue taking its toll on Tillman before his late goal pushed it to 4-1.
AM Timothy Weah (Dest, 72′), NR — Weah was on for a few minutes before launching the shot that nearly got the U.S. a corner in the final 15.
ST Ricardo Pepi (Balogun, 72′), NR — It looked like he was about to make it 4-1 before his opportunity was deflected out of play.
