Balogun living WC 'dream' as U.S. choice pays off
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- Folarin Balogun scored twice before halftime in the U.S.'s 4-1 World Cup win over Paraguay in Inglewood, California, becoming the first U.S. men's player to net two goals in a single World Cup game since the 1930 inaugural tournament.
- Damian Bobadilla's own goal opened the scoring; Balogun added strikes in the 31st minute (off a deflected Pulisic feed from 14 yards) and deep in first-half stoppage time, the second a venomous left-footed shot into the top corner after a Malik Tillman through ball.
- Mauricio pulled one back for Paraguay in the 73rd minute, but Gio Reyna capped the night with a sublime stoppage-time finish struck with the outside of his right foot.
- Christian Pulisic, who was subbed off at halftime and said he was "hoping it's nothing," called Balogun "insane" and "lethal," and praised the Monaco striker for holding up the ball against much larger center backs.
- Balogun filed a FIFA change of association in 2023 to play for the U.S. — having been born in New York to Nigerian parents and raised in England — and told reporters Friday was his way of repaying the fans who pushed him toward that decision.
- The U.S. next faces Australia in Seattle before returning to SoFi Stadium to take on Türkiye in the final group-stage match.
Why it matters: The U.S. could hardly have asked for a more emphatic World Cup opener on home soil, and Balogun's two-goal breakout vindicates the 2023 switch-of-allegiance gamble that turned him from an England youth international into the USMNT's starting striker — but Pulisic's unexplained halftime exit, which the captain himself described as "hoping it's nothing," is the one blemish on an otherwise near-perfect night.
