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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Alexander Abnos at Los Angeles Stadium

In a USA win for the history books, what stood out most was the ‘fun’ and free nature of it

Christian Pulisic celebrates
Christian Pulisic celebrates the USA’s first goal against Paraguay in their World Cup clash. Photograph: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images

To find a precedent for the United States’ win over Paraguay, one must return to a time when World Cup teams were forced to drop out due to the Great Depression, and the ones who did make it arrived via ship, playing with a leather ball held together by seam and laces.

The dominant 4-1 win matched a 96-year-old landmark – the largest margin of victory for the USA in a men’s World Cup game (they won 3-0 twice in the inaugural 1930 tournament, against Belgium and, in a neat bit of symmetry, Paraguay).

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