INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Enrique Rodó’s essay Ariel from 1900 pits the creative, spiritual ideals of Latin America against the primitive impulses of North America, picking apart the latter’s “trained brutality,” “insensibility to soft tones,” and “cult of bigness.” The roles were spectacularly reversed in the World Cup’s clash of Americas on Friday.
It was Paraguay who took a distinctly primitive approach to defending, clumsily bumbling around SoFi Stadium without any discernible impact on the remarkably penetrative and persistent waves of U.S. attack. “They were floating,” Paraguay boss Gustavo Alfaro gushed after the contest.
Mauricio Pochettino demanded his roster shake off the weight of expectation and “play like they are a child.” The Stars and Stripes lived up to that brief, floating around the turf with an impish weightlessness. Paraguay took on the unwanted connotation of that message, making a series of schoolboy mistakes which undoubtedly made life easier in an impressive and historic 4–1 win few saw coming.
Christian Pulisic Comes Out With a Point to Prove
USMNT has lift-off. pic.twitter.com/H1DygU7kkD
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) June 13, 2026
“We want to go and prove ourselves right,” Christian Pulisic declared in a rare statement with any punch on the eve of the tournament.
The face of this team has been scrutinized more than anyone else. Despite undoubtedly standing out as the most talented American player of his generation, Pulisic has struggled to live up to the lofty billing foisted upon him. The winger’s last goal in a competitive international came back in November 2024. Pulisic is still waiting to break that particular drought, but he emphatically proved himself Friday.
Pulisic played with a directness which defined the entire frontline, forever spinning towards goal each time he got the ball and barrelling directly at poor Juan Cáceres.
It was that urgency which forced the breakthrough inside seven minutes. Confronted with two blue shirts, Pulisic hopped between Diego Gómez and Cáceres as though he was jumping through a pair of closing elevator doors. A further poke between the legs of Andrés Cubas allowed Weston McKennie to stab the ball against the shins of Damián Bobadilla.
There was no need for any trickery as Pulisic burned past Cáceres half an hour into the contest, driving to the goal line to cut the ball back for Folarin Balogun’s first and the team’s second of the game.
The only lingering negative to Pulisic’s defiant display was that it lasted just 45 minutes.
Crisis? What Midfield Crisis?
There weren’t many surprises in Pochettino’s roster—even without the prolific leaks—but the one area of intrigue revolved around his midfield selections, or a lack thereof.
Tyler Adams’s availability will be key given the distinct lack of options as that deepest central midfielder, especially if Pochettino continues to line him up next to the attacking duo of Malik Tillman and Weston McKennie.
The versatility of Tillman and McKennie makes for an interesting blend of blurring stripes in front of Adams. Tillman was comfortable dropping a bit deeper or drifting wide (where he spent the entirety of the second half in Pulisic’s absence) while McKennie constantly swapped positions with Sergiño Dest, a right back/right wingback who was often neither on the right wing or at the back.
Even Gio Reyna came off the bench and impressed—although the sequence leading up to his goal once again underscored the importance of Adams. The high-profile substitute briefly threatened to lose his head after a needless collision before Adams charged onto the scene, shoving Reyna away from the scuffle and towards the penalty box, from where he bent a sumptuous fourth into the far corner.
It remains to be seen if Pochettino is as front-footed against an opponent more willing to creep out of its shell before falling 3–0 down, but it is an exciting starting trio.
All That Campaigning Paid Off
Flo Balogun was destined to shine on the biggest stage. pic.twitter.com/vSwIE99sE0
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) June 13, 2026
When Balogun told his mother that he had decided to represent the USMNT rather than hold out for an England call-up or represent her nation of birth, Nigeria, she replied: “What took you so long?”
Balogun himself would later describe the decision as a “no brainer” but that didn’t stop the New York-born striker from turning out for numerous England youth teams after moving across the Atlantic as an infant. There was enough jeopardy for the USMNT to actively court Balogun, who was wined and dined by the manager and several players in 2023, which included courtside seats for an Orlando Magic game.
That campaigning—akin to the type of recruitment strategy usually reserved for college teams scouting high schoolers—has paid off. The Monaco forward struck upon a rich vein of form in the second half of the club season and carried his clinical edge into World Cup play with a pair of wonderfully taken goals.
By nabbing a brace in the largest win USMNT has ever recorded in the competition, Balogun became the first American in men’s World Cup history to score twice in the same game since Bert Patenaude registered the tournament’s first hat-trick in 1930.
The No. 1 Decision
It was a decision which became helpfully masked by the attacking might in front of him, but Pochettino’s goalkeeper call was always going to be one to watch. The Argentine ultimately opted for New York City FC’s Matt Freese over Matt Turner, the first choice for the 2022 World Cup.
Turner has enjoyed an impressive MLS campaign thus far—boasting the best save prevention rate in the entire division—but his shaky showings at international level, particularly during a thumping at the hands of Belgium in March, ushered Freese to the fore.
The 27-year-old didn’t have to make a single save in the first half and still failed to record a stopped shot after the break when Mauricio’s well-placed finish comfortably bypassed his wayward dive.
There will be more testing tasks in the weeks ahead, but for now, Pochettino can bask in the success of all his decisions.
