World Cup 2026 enters full swing as the U.S. routs Paraguay

The 2026 World Cup moved into a fuller schedule after the United States, the tournament’s main host, opened its campaign with a dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay. The match, played overnight between Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles, drew 70,492 spectators. The U.S. scored in the 7th minute through an own goal by Paraguay’s Damian Bobadilla, after Weston McKennie’s cross, and controlled the first half with fast attacking play led by Christian Pulisic.

Florian Balogun was the standout, doubling the lead in the 31st minute and then finishing a strong move in first-half stoppage time for 3-0. Paraguay pulled one back through Mauricio in the 73rd minute, but Giovanni Reyna sealed the result with a goal in the 90th minute plus 8.

The article said the tournament would now accelerate, with three to four games each night starting at 22:00. The evening schedule begins with Qatar, the previous World Cup host, facing Switzerland. Qatar is making its first World Cup appearance as a team that qualified through the qualifiers after hosting the 2022 tournament.

Brazil meets Morocco at 1:00 a.m. in one of the most intriguing fixtures, with Carlo Ancelotti making his World Cup debut as a coach. Brazil is expected to start Vinicius and Raphinha, while waiting on Neymar, and Morocco arrives after reaching the semifinals at the previous World Cup. Later, Haiti plays Scotland at 4:00 a.m., and Australia faces Turkey at 7:00 a.m. Haiti is returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, while Turkey is back for the first time since 2002 and is led by Real Madrid’s Arda Guler.