USMNT Silences Doubters With Dominant Win Against Paraguay

There were plenty of reasons to doubt this year’s World Cup roster from the US, but those were put to rest on Friday night.

The US Men’s National Team opened its World Cup with a 4-1 win over Paraguay. While fans were tense heading into the opening kick, the team put their worries to rest almost immediately with a goal during the seventh minute. The USMNT scored twice more in the first half, adding one more in the 98th minute.

While it's just one match, we are left wondering if this year’s squad could be in store for a special World Cup.

Paraguay’s Past Success Falls Flat

The USMNT was favored to win its opening match against Paraguay, but history suggested it would be far from easy. While the US won its last three matches against the South American nation, all were decided by just one goal. That led many to expect another close, low-scoring match. 

Instead, we saw the USMNT play like a true world soccer power. They dominated possession (65%) and put six shots on goal, allowing just one. They passed the ball smoothly and were far more disciplined than a Paraguay squad that looked totally overwhelmed.

 Paraguay isn’t a competitor for this year’s World Cup, but the win still showed us a side of the USMNT we didn’t believe existed.

USMNT, Pulisic Step Up When it Matters

Since the US is one of the hosts for the 2026 World Cup, its national team didn’t need to go through the grueling qualifying process. While they set up several international friendlies to help tune up for the tournament, we never saw this year’s World Cup squad play in a match that truly mattered.

The lack of qualifying made the noise around the team even louder, especially around Christian Pulisic. The AC Milan star ended the club’s season on a brutal cold streak, which carried over to his play for the USMNT over the last few months. He admitted the pressure around the streak has affected his confidence, but that didn’t show on Friday as he helped create the team’s first two goals.

All Eyes on Pulisic’s Health

Unfortunately, Pulisc was pulled from the match at halftime as a precaution. He had reported an issue with his left calf, leading the squad to shut him down after establishing a three-goal lead. Officials have insisted he is OK and will be ready to play Friday in the team’s second match, but they still list his injury status as "day-to-day."

The good news is that the team has a full week off before their second match. The expanded field for the 2026 World Cup is putting more time between matches. This provides Pulisic time to treat the injury and prepare to play against Australia.

The bad news is that calf injuries often linger for soccer players, and things are about to get far more challenging for the US. They’ll face two top 26 squads in Australia and Turkey over the next two weeks. That will put far more pressure on the team as a whole, and provide more of a challenge for an ailing Pulisic.