World Cup: United States off to a great start
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It could not have been planned any better by the U.S. men’s national team.
An unexpected and electric start.
A 3-0 halftime advantage.
A near-capacity crowd that had the time of their lives.
By the time referee Danny Makkelie mercifully whistled the game over, the Americans walked off the SoFi Stadium field with a rousing and stunning 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the World Cup opener for both teams on Friday night.
“It’s a dreamy night,” said forward Folarin Balogun, who connected twice in the opening half.
“It was definitely a statement. Three goals in the first half of the opening game. That’s what you wanted to do.”
Not many observers saw that coming, especially after all of the fits and starts the team has endured under coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The USMNT has a history of struggling in World Cup matches. If the Americans do win, it is usually by a goal.
Friday’s triumph was the best all-around performance by the USMNT in a World Cup.
Star forward Christian Pulisic credited the crowd.
“It meant everything for us,” he said. “A half like that, for it to go as it did and have the fans really excited about our performance, it felt amazing.”
The U.S. scored four goals in a World Cup match for the first time. The team had never had a three-goal halftime lead.
It should be noted that the three times the U.S. has won its opening match (1930, 2002, 2014), it has advanced to the knockout round. The win doesn’t make that automatic, but it was a great start.
In fact, the U.S. has put itself in a position not only to qualify for the knockout round but to win the group.
Here are the four possibilities:
* If the Americans win the group, they will meet the third-place team from either Group B, E, F, I or J on Wednesday, July 1, in Santa Clara, California, in the round of 32. Group winners start on a less difficult path in the knockout round.
* If they take second place, they will play the Group G runner-up on Friday, July 3, in Arlington, Texas.
* If the U.S. finishes third and is one of the top eight third-place teams, there are two possibilities. The team could play the Group E winner on Monday, June 29, in Foxborough, Massachusetts, or the Group I winner at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, June 30. Germany is favored to win Group E; France is expected to rule in Group I.
* If the USA is fourth, it will be eliminated.
The Americans started the match aggressively, taking advantage of plenty of space in the midfield. Pulisic, who recently ended a personal five-month goal drought, didn’t score, but he ate his markers alive on the left flank, setting up the first two goals.
The first one, only seven minutes into the match, came off Pulisic’s pass to Weston McKennie. McKennie tried to send the ball to a teammate, but it went off a Paraguay center back for an own goal.
Certainly not a beauty, but it counts all the same.
The U.S. was relentless, putting more pressure on the goal before Balogun connected in the 31st minute and five minutes into first-half stoppage time to become the first American player to score two goals in a World Cup match since Bert Patenaude recorded a hat trick almost a century ago in a 3-0 win over Paraguay in the first World Cup in 1930.
In the waning seconds, Gio Reyna drilled a shot from inside the penalty area to put a bow on the scintillating win.
If there was a concern, it was Pulisic, who was kicked in the back of his calf in the first half. Taking no chances, Pochettino pulled his star at halftime in favor of Sebastian Berhalter.
“I just got a bit of a kick in the first half,” he said. “I hope that it’s nothing. Taking precaution.”
Still, it was a night to cherish and remember, but there are two more group stage matches — against Australia in Seattle on June 19 and Turkey at SoFi on June 25.
“There’s still so much more we want to accomplish in this tournament,” Pulisic said.
The U.S. already has accomplished plenty on a memorable Friday night.