*Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Folarin Balogun scored twice and Christian Pulisic ran roughshod over Paraguayan defenders as the United States recorded a dominating 4-1 victory in its World Cup opener on Friday.
The packed house at SoFi Stadium shook like a Southern California earthquake as the world’s top soccer competition returned to American soil for the first time since 1994.
“All in all, just an incredible start,” Pulisic told reporters after the match. “But there’s a lot more we still have to do.”
If the Americans were anxious taking the SoFi pitch, they didn’t show it.
“I think the first game is always the most difficult, you know, to get the nerves out of the way,” Balogun said. “You want a result like this and it gives you a lot of confidence for the next game.”
Pulisic split defenders, and his pass to Weston McKennie led to Damián Bobadilla’s own goal and a 1-0 American lead in the seventh minute.
Balogun found the back of Paraguay’s net in the 31st minute, cashing in on Pulisic’s precise cross. The cool, calm and focused Balogun then dribbled around two Paraguayan defenders when he scored again in added time as the U.S. would never be seriously challenged.
Perhaps looking to the rest of a potentially long tournament, USA coach Mauricio Pochettino took Pulisic off the pitch at halftime.
Pulisic said he was kicked in the calf late in the first half and the team didn’t want to take any chances. He’s optimistic about being on the pitch for America’s next match.
“I’m really hoping that it’s nothing,” Pulisic said. “Taking a little bit of precaution today.”
Sebastian Berhalter entered in place of Pulisic, ending a short-but-dominant Friday night for the American who plays for AC Milan.
Mauricio Magalhães gave Paraguay a glimmer of hope with his goal in the 73rd minute, but La Albirroja never really posed a serious challenge to the hosts.
And in one of the final touches of the match, U.S. veteran Gio Reyna found the top corner of the net from about 17 yards out, adding one more thrill for the capacity crowd.
Even though three points were already in the bag by then, the goal was an emotional moment for Americans to celebrate Reyna.
“It’s a dream, it’s a dreamy night,” Balogun said, summing up America’s magical 90 minutes on Friday night.
Earlier in the day in Toronto, Canada opened its tri-hosting with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Canada’s Cyle Larin scored an equalizer in the 78th minute to rescue a Group B point for Les Rouges.
America will be back in action on Friday in Seattle, while Canada’s next match is Thursday against Qatar in Vancouver.
*Culled from ABC News.
