The United States opened their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 thrashing of Paraguay on Friday, while co-hosts Canada salvaged a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina to secure their first-ever point in the tournament after winless campaigns in 1986 and 2022.
The US victory in Los Angeles was powered by a first-half double from striker Folarin Balogun, but elation was tempered by concern over the fitness of Christian Pulisic.
The emphatic Group D win marked a dream start for the co-hosts, whose four goals were their most ever in a World Cup match.
“Amazing result,” US captain Tim Ream said. “It’s exactly the way we wanted to start the tournament.”
The US broke through Paraguay’s vaunted defence in the seventh minute when Pulisic deftly split two players and found Weston McKennie, whose cross was kicked into the net by Damian Bobadilla for an own goal.
Shortly after the first-half hydration break, Pulisic raced up the left side and sent a perfect cross to Balogun, who angled his shot past the diving goalkeeper Orlando Gill for a 2-0 lead.
Balogun struck again on the stroke of halftime, taking a long pass and shaking off a sliding defender and hammering a left-footed shot into the top corner of the net.
The only blemish on the night for the US came when Pulisic was substituted at halftime by coach Mauricio Pochettino because of tightness in his calf.
“It was difficult for him to walk, but I hope that it is not a big issue and he can be ready for the next one,” Pochettino said.
Paraguay came out of the break with more intensity, and finally got on the board in the 73rd minute with a goal from substitute Mauricio, who took advantage of a defensive lapse by the US.
But the Americans continued to control the game and Gio Reyna scored from the edge of the box with the outside of his right foot in the closing action of the match.
“The opposition were better than us,” Paraguay defender Junior Alonso said.
“Regretting things won’t help us at all; we need to use these mistakes to improve and put in a better performance that brings us closer to victory.”
Played under the massive, semi-translucent roof at Los Angeles Stadium, the US-Paraguay match drew a crowd of high-profile spectators, including Tom Cruise and David Beckham.
Despite pre-tournament concerns over high ticket prices, the NFL home of the Rams and Chargers, configured for a World Cup capacity of 70,492, was sold out.
The US will again be favoured when they face Australia on June 19 in Seattle, while Paraguay will look to bounce back when they travel to Santa Clara, California to face Turkey. (Story continues below)
Milestone for Canada
In Toronto, Cyle Larin scored in the 78th minute as Canada eked out a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Jovo Lukic scored in the 21st minute for Bosnia, who were playing their first World Cup match since being eliminated from group play in 2014 in Brazil.
Maxime Crepeau had two saves for Canada, which entered the match with a record of 0-6-0 in two World Cup appearances (1986, 2022).
Nikola Vasilj had one save for Bosnia.
Switzerland and Qatar, who are also in Group B, were opening against each other on Saturday afternoon. Either team could move atop the group with a win.
Bosnia took the lead off a left-footed corner kick from Ivan Basic, which he fired to the goal mouth. Sead Kolasinac flicked a header on for the 6-foot-4 Lukic, who was checked from behind by a smaller defender as he headed his shot from 2 yards out for the first goal of his international career.
To that point, Bosnia had controlled the play with their size and physicality. But as the match wore on, the quicker Canadians appeared better suited to the heat.
Canada had the better of the play for the rest of the first half but had difficulty putting shots on frame and creating quality chances.
Early in the second half, both teams had excellent chances to score. Canada finally got the equaliser as Promise David flicked a pass forward to Larin, who was just inside the middle of the box.
Larin, who had been subbed on just two minutes earlier, spun and fired a right-footed blast into the lower right corner.
Canada now fly across the country to Vancouver to play Qatar in their second group match on June 18, while Bosnia will face Switzerland in Los Angeles on June 19.
