The United States men's national soccer team secured a historic 4-1 victory over Paraguay on Friday night in its 2026 FIFA World Cup opening match at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Americans surged to a 3-0 halftime advantage, marking the largest halftime lead for the national team in any World Cup game, according to Houston Public Media.
Folarin Balogun scored twice during the first half, making his World Cup debut as the first U. S.
player to record a multi-goal performance in the tournament since 1930.
Christian Pulisic drove the offensive attack by creating the first two U. S.
goals, which included a seventh-minute play that resulted in an own-goal by Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla.
Pulisic left the game at halftime due to calf tightness after being kicked in the leg, but the team extended its lead in the final moments of second-half injury time with a goal from Gio Reyna.
The performance occurred in front of a star-studded crowd of 70,492 spectators in Southern California, including celebrities like Tom Cruise, George Lucas, Bill Gates, Halle Berry, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Local Enthusiasm in Houston
The match was streamed live to roughly 400 fans at a free watch party at Rice University's Ion District in Houston, Texas, where seven upcoming tournament matches are scheduled to be played.
Rice University President Reginald DesRoches spoke to Houston Public Media regarding the local fan enthusiasm surrounding the tournament following the opening U.
S. goal.
"There were questions about whether or not people are really excited [for the World Cup], would there be traffic, but I think everybody's forgotten all that and are just enjoying the games and having fun," said DesRoches.
Charlotte Connolly, a summer intern at Rice University from Columbia University, attended local watch parties and shared her observations on the atmosphere in Houston.
"It seems like the city supports the people, and it's excited for this event, and it seems well done," said Connolly.
Connolly added that the nature of the global tournament naturally generates widespread local interest. "It's the World Cup.
I don't think there's ever not going to be excitement," she said.
Esteban Resendez attended the watch party and described how his household was divided during the opening matches of the tournament.
"My wife is a first-generation American. Her family is from Mexico," said Resendez.
Resendez noted that his family celebrated Mexico's opening victory the previous day before he turned his attention to supporting the U.
S. squad.
"They're really excited. Yesterday [Mexico's winning opening match] was fantastic.
I'm rooting for the U. S.
... That's been going on for a while now, [my wife] accepts my American jersey," he said.
Following his first-half exit, Pulisic provided a brief update on his physical condition and remained optimistic about his availability for future tournament matches.
"Staying positive," said Pulisic.
Pulisic indicated that the injury did not appear to be a severe issue for the remainder of the tournament.
"I don't think it's anything," he said.
The victory marks the largest World Cup win for the U. S.
team since hosting its last home World Cup 32 years ago under a new creative system deployed by head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Maurício scored the lone second-half goal for Paraguay, but the national team could not overcome the early deficit in its first World Cup appearance in 16 years.
The upcoming schedule for World Cup matches in Houston begins with a Group stage game between Germany and Curaçao on Sunday at noon.
