A near-perfect World Cup opener takes the USMNT into uncharted territory

The U.S. Men's National Team opened the 2026 home World Cup with a dominant 4-1 victory over Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in front of 70,492 fans. The result was described as featuring the best 45 minutes in U.S. men's World Cup history, with defender Chris Richards calling the moment surreal. The win marked a dramatic turnaround for a program that had missed the 2018 World Cup entirely and has since developed a so-called golden generation including Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Christian Pulisic.