The United States men’s national team made a statement of a win on Friday as they thrashed Paraguay in the Group D opener of the World Cup at Los Angeles Stadium.
With a lot of pressure on the line, head coach Mauricio Pochettino had to make things right to show that after two years of preparations, they were ready to play on the world’s stage.
His 4-2-3-1 formation saw Matt Freese given goalkeeping duties, while Chris Richards was put in central defense, alongside captain Tim Ream, as he returned from an ankle injury.
There was concern that the Americans would start sluggishly, as in past games, but they had their first chance for a goal two minutes into the contest. Alex Freeman’s over-the-top pass found Weston McKennie, who headed it on to Folarin Balogun, but the attempt was saved by Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill.
It didn’t take them long to grab their first of the game in the seventh minute when Freeman’s pass to McKennie on a counterattack went over to Christian Pulisic. The winger skipped past two defenders to give the ball back to the midfielder, whose pass into the middle of the 18-yard box ended up with Damián Bobadilla directing the ball into his team’s goal.
The host nation appeared to have doubled its lead in the 28th minute when Balogun collected a pass from Tyler Adams to put the ball into the back of the net. However, it was disallowed by the referee due to offside.
But the New York-born forward would not be denied three minutes later when Pulisic ran onto a pass from the back by Antonee Robinson on the left side, and crossed the ball into the area for Balogun to steer it home.
The U.S. was in fine form throughout the first half and grabbed a third goal five minutes into stoppage time. Malik Tillman’s long through ball found Balogun, who beat two Paraguayan defenders to blast his shot well out of reach of Gill.
Pochettino’s personnel changes in the second half changed the momentum the Americans had as Paraguay tried to get itself back into the game. However, the South Americans found it difficult to make a breakthrough.
After the second hydration break, Mauricio cut the deficit in the 73rd minute. A free kick from its end saw Miguel Almiron play the ball to Julio Enciso, who delivered a short pass to the midfielder to get his shot past Freese.
The U.S. found another goal in stoppage time through Gio Reyna. Freeman’s short pass to the midfielder gave him time to make a turn and send in a curling shot.
An impressive win for Pochettino’s side, as they put themselves in a very strong position to take one step to book a place in the knockout stage.
The team heads to Seattle, where they will take on Australia on June 19.
