National Writer: Charles Boehm<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2013 Maybe it was the early own goal in their favor, a ball caroming off Paraguay midfielder Dami\u00e1n Bobadilla after an incisive attacking move barely seven minutes in, that signaled to the US men\u2019s national team<\/a> that Friday would be their night.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Or perhaps, mused Weston McKennie as he later spoke to reporters in a crowded postgame mixed zone, it was the classy brace Folarin Balogun bagged just before halftime to run the score to 3-0, a backbreaking blow to a disconsolate Albirroja side on the second night of the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Really, though, it was what the USMNT midfielder said next that underlined precisely what this rousing 4-1 rout<\/a> in front of 70,492 appreciative fans at Los Angeles Stadium meant for this team and the nation they represent.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever we walked out and heard the national anthem, and seeing the crowd and people singing along, I think that as a moment, I got goosebumps,\u201d said the\u00a0FC Dallas<\/a> academy product after Friday’s Group D opener. \u201cIt just felt special.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s hard to describe unless you’re just there in that moment \u2013 the accumulation of all the work that your team puts in, and all the guys, all the paths that they took to be here in this moment together. I think that was the turning point for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Every goal from a huge W for the @USMNT<\/a> \ud83e\udee1 pic.twitter.com\/3e9tgIN0xs<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Even the most optimistic USMNT supporter wearing the rosiest red-white-and-blue glasses might have hesitated to predict the Yanks\u2019 World Cup opener unfolding like this.<\/p>\n This was easily one of the most dominant performances in program history on a stage of this magnitude. The United States produced their first-ever four-goal performance in a World Cup game, while tying their largest margin of victory at the tournament.<\/p>\n The hosts set the tone and bossed possession, tormenting Paraguay with their tigerish press, flashing flair and skill on the ball in front of a huge crowd at a gleaming, NFL-sized venue where the cameras kept finding one Hollywood star after another.<\/p>\n \u201cSurreal,\u201d said Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a> midfielder Sebastian Berhalter<\/a>, whose father Gregg, a USMNT World Cup veteran as both a player and coach, was among those in attendance for his Mundial debut.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s what US soccer should be. Walking around and just seeing almost 70,000 US fans just going crazy, and even getting them going, getting them fired up \u2013 it was so cool just to be on the field during that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Just getting started. \u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udd0d\ud83d\udc99 pic.twitter.com\/y9LiKGDdda<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Historic display<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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