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FIFA World Cup Fan Festival brings the excitement to Los Angeles | ChicagoLIVE
Want a look at the excitement building ahead of tonight's match? Fox Los Angeles' Nic Garcia joins us live from the FIFA Fan Festival with a behind-the-scenes look at the atmosphere surrounding SoFi Stadium before USA takes on Paraguay.
What a start for the United States Men’s National Team.
The U.S. scored in the seventh minute and poured it on to Paraguay with a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Here are our takeaways from the USMNT’s dominating win over Paraguay to open World Cup play.
United States carries momentum into opener
The USMNT dropped its friendly vs. Germany 2-1, but there were moments where the United States thoroughly had the upper hand against one of the better teams in the tournament.
That continued over in the World Cup opener for the U.S.
The USMNT scored just seven minutes into Friday’s match. Weston McKinnie played a pass on to Christian Pulisic, but the ball bounced off a Paraguay defender and into the net. There may have been some luck involved, but the U.S. got into that situation because of the aggression they played with on offense.
Striker Folarin Balogun looked like he gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead, but his goal was waved off. That doesn’t matter. He netted a goal that counted just a few minutes later.
The USMNT harnessed the momentum they built against Germany. The German team started that game strong and put the U.S. on its heels. Now, in a game where it counted, the United States manifested that energy early.
Blazing Balogun
The United States had a chance to make a statement early in this World Cup.
Against Paraguay, on American turf and coming off an encouraging friendly vs. Germany, the USMNT could stand out even more when the lights starting to shine the brighest.
Enter: Folarin Balogun.
The American striker netted two first-half goals to rocket the United States ahead of Paraguay 3-0 at halftime. Those three goals in the first half equaled the number of goals the USMNT scored in the 2022 World Cup.
Against Germany, Antonee Robinson netted a fantastic strike that captivated American fans. Balogun did the same when it mattered most.
Dominating start for the U.S.
The USMNT allowed a second-half goal to Paraguay. That still doesn’t capture just how much the Americans dominated it the World Cup opener.
The United States out possessed Paraguay 63 percent to 37 percent. That possession percentage leveled out after the first half. They outshot Paraguay 14-9 with a 5-1 advantage in shots on target.
Balogun’s two goals were nearly three.
The USMNT defense was better with Chris Richards in the starting IX.
The U.S. couldn’t have asked for a better start to the World Cup. It was one of the finest performances in World Cup history for the United States.