USMNT player ratings: Balogun, Pulisic team-best p...
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Folarin Balogun scored twice — including a curling finish off Malik Tillman's through ball — to earn a team-best 8/10 rating and power the U.S. past Paraguay 4-1, the most goals the USMNT has ever scored in a World Cup match.
- Christian Pulisic matched Balogun with an 8/10 rating, combining with Antonee Robinson down the left and drifting inside to create the chance that set up Balogun's goal before being subbed off at halftime.
- Weston McKennie drew a 7/10 for a versatile, space-finding display that included the shot deflecting off Damián Bobadilla for the own goal that opened the scoring.
- Mauricio Pochettino earned a 7/10 manager rating after fielding his first-choice XI with Chris Richards back from injury, a setup the source notes has historically been a stumbling block for the U.S.
- Giovanni Reyna came off the bench in the 82nd minute and promptly scored to restore the three-goal cushion after Mauricio's strike had made it 3-1.
- Matt Freese was the weak link at 4/10, tested early by Diego Gomez and beaten on Paraguay's lone goal that briefly cut the U.S. lead to two.
Why it matters: The U.S. sits atop Group D ahead of Saturday's Australia–Türkiye match, and a record-breaking attacking output in a game they were favored to win — combined with Pochettino finally getting his first-choice XI on the pitch — checks the two boxes that have historically tripped up the program in major tournaments.
