United States Delivers a Statement Win Over Paraguay at the 2026 World Cup

After a stunning 4-1 victory over Paraguay, an Israeli columnist in New Jersey argued that this may have been the best match in U.S. national team history. The game took place on Friday night local time, early Saturday morning in Israel, at the New York, New Jersey area fan zone in Jersey City, a symbolic host city because more than 40 percent of its residents were born outside the United States.

The fan zone opened with a heavy, global World Cup atmosphere, with supporters wearing shirts from many nations before kickoff. But once the match began, the crowd turned fully American as Mauricio Pochettino’s team came out aggressively despite the heat and the late 9 p.m. local start. The pregame entertainment included a performance by the Village People, and the Americans quickly matched that energy on the field.

The U.S. entered the game knowing its World Cup history, it had always advanced when it did not lose its opener and had always exited in the first round after an opening defeat. Facing Paraguay, it needed more than a draw, especially after Mexico had already won and Canada had earned a historic World Cup point. Instead, the Americans produced a dominant performance and a crushing 4-1 result that the article called the biggest World Cup game in U.S. history.

Christian Pulisic was the central figure. The article described him as the face of American soccer’s golden generation and said he had never fully delivered on his promise, despite earlier failures in World Cup qualifying, a decisive goal against Iran in the previous tournament, a Gold Cup final loss, and some unremarkable Nations League titles. Against Paraguay, he was outstanding in the first half before being taken off to avoid injury, and his maturity and dribbling helped the U.S. reach a decisive 3-0 lead by halftime. Sergiño Dest impressed on the right wing, Florian Balogun scored twice, and Weston McKennie and Malik Tillman controlled midfield.

The piece also placed the match in the context of New York sports, where the Knicks are expected to dominate attention after a long-awaited championship run. It said the Empire State Building is still lit in orange and blue, not red, white and blue, and that nothing will displace the Knicks from the top of the headlines soon. Still, if the U.S. plays this well again against Australia next Friday, in Seattle, it could start drawing serious attention. The team now has several days off before the next group game, and the article noted that the expanded World Cup format creates long gaps between matches while also raising the possibility that the U.S. could meet Iran in the round of 32.