The U.S. took their World Cup opener in dominate fashion, taking home a 4-1 win over Paraguay.
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The U.S. offense started early and strong.
In the seventh minute The U.S. wasted no time applying the pressure, forcing a mistake out of Paraguayan midfielder Damián Bobadilla which saw him deflect a Weston McKinnie pass right into his own net.
In the 28th minute, the Americans seemingly had their second goal of the night, courtesy of forward Folarin Balogun.
But it would not be as the offsides flag went up, nullifying to goal
However, Balogun would not be deterred. Just three minutes later, a Christian Pulisic cross found Balogun, and he made sure to bury it.
And more offense was to come; Malik Tillman played a spectacular through ball to Balogun, where the American forward cut back towards center field before burying a strike into the top left corner.
The U.S. offensive was unrelenting the entirety of the first half, outshooting Paraguay eight to two.
The Americans carried this 3-0 advantage into halftime.
The second half saw the U.S. play a more conservative style, nursing their lead and keeping the game under their control.
But Paraguay made sure to not leave this game empty handed, a deep free-kick down the field from Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gil
was corralled by left winger Miguel Almirón.
Almirón then played a pass to forward Julio Enciso who found Maurico who in turn sunk a left footed strike into the U.S. net.
The U.S. would get the final laugh, however.
In the 90+7-minute Tim Weah would slot a pass to midfielder Giovanni Reyna who fired in one final goal which sent the U.S. off with a dominant 4-1 win.
The U.S. will match up next against Australia next at 3 p.m. on Friday. As for Paraguay, they get Turkey at 11 a.m. also on Friday.
Follow Adrian Murillo Silva on Instagram @adrianms_offical
