Folarin Balogun had the first attempt of the match as the United States began brightly, but his shot took a deflection and was comfortably saved by Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill.

However, it was the co-hosts who struck first shortly after, with a decisive defensive intervention turning the game in their favour inside eight minutes. Christian Pulisic drove into the box from the left and squared the ball across goal, where Weston McKennie’s touch ultimately led to Damian Bobadilla diverting it into his own net.

Pulisic and McKennie remained central to the USA’s attacking play as they continued to apply pressure. Paraguay’s only real response came through a deflected effort from Julio Enciso, which failed to trouble the defence significantly.

The United States thought they had doubled their lead in the 28th minute when Balogun found the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside in the build-up involving Pulisic. The striker, however, did not have to wait long for his moment, as just three minutes later Pulisic chased down a ball on the wing and cut it back for Balogun to finish calmly from close range.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side kept pushing forward, with goalkeeper Gill forced into action again to deny Chris Richards from a corner, while also reacting quickly to stop a close-range attempt from Malik Tillman.

The USA capped off a dominant first half in added time, as Balogun latched onto a through ball from Tillman, beat two defenders, and curled a superb effort into the top corner. The strike completed a historic half for the United States, as they went into the break leading 3-0 for the first time ever at a World Cup.

Paraguay’s struggles going forward were highlighted by their low goals-per-game average, the worst among teams to reach the tournament in North America, and their task became even harder as their attacking efforts were repeatedly disrupted, including blocked attempts from Miguel Almirón and Diego Gómez by their own teammates.

Any hope of a shift in momentum early in the second half was quickly halted, even after Balogun went down in the box amid penalty appeals that were waved away around 10 minutes after the restart. Malik Tillman also came close, but sent a chance narrowly wide.

Despite being firmly on the back foot, the 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists refused to collapse. Diego Gómez later tested the USA defence with a driven effort following a strong run from Julio Enciso, before Paraguay finally pulled one back with 17 minutes remaining. Enciso combined well with Almirón before sliding the ball across for substitute Mauricio to finish calmly and score his first senior international goal.

Goalkeeper Orlando Gill remained active, producing saves to deny efforts from Tillman and substitute Timothy Weah, but the United States eventually restored their dominance late on. In stoppage time, Giovanni Reyna sealed the win in style, using the outside of his boot to finish off a flowing 26-pass team move beyond Gill.

The result marked a historic moment for the USA, as they scored four goals in a World Cup match for the first time and recorded their biggest victory in the competition, surpassing their 3-0 win over Paraguay in 1930. For Gustavo Alfaro’s side, it also extended a difficult run of form, with four consecutive head-to-head defeats against the United States.