Post-match: Red, White, and Blue and White and Red - US v Paraguay - 2026 World Cup Group Stage - 6/12/26 9:00P

That was the best us world cup game I can rememeber (I was a bit young in 2002 although I distinctly remember parts of the Portugal game but not enough to count it).

 

That was a Paraguay team that conceded a total of 10 goals across 18 CONMEBOL qualifiers. They beat Argentina and Brazil to qualify. And the US made them look like a Caribbean minnow from the Gold Cup group stages. A lot of the games being mentioned were huge wins but the US did not control the game nearly to the level that they did yesterday. That plus the pressure and scrutiny of hosting the tournament and the general malaise of the past few years to me puts it in the conversation of best half ever.

 

That Paraguay team beat Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil (IN Brazil!) in qualifying. This narrative that they are a joke team needs to die. They were made to look like a joke because the US took their pants down and whooped their behinds in front of God and their families and the rest of the world.

 

"Some old, unadjudicated charges" is a nice way of putting it...

 

And they scored 14 goals in 18 games. Let's not act like they are world beaters.

 

Give me one good reason I should NOT pretend such? The US scored 4 goals in one single World Cup game against the greatest South American team anyone has ever seen and you want to DIMINISH that??

Seriously though, sometimes the “let people enjoy things” people are kind of annoying but I think now more than ever that principle strongly applies.

 

So no one would be overreacting if the US slogged its way to a 1-0 or 2-1 win. I don't understand down playing that the US carried possession and put three in the net against them in one half.

 

Two things can be true:

1) Paraguay plays a bunker and counter game, which makes it very easy to possess the ball against them for any half decent opponent. They didn't even try to play until the second half. Seemed clear from the start they were playing for 0-0 or a miracle 1-0 result.

2) the US was excellent in the first half. If it was 1-0 with just an own goal, it would've been a solid half. 3-0, especially the last two goals, were phenomenal. Paraguay was desperate to get to halftime and regroup, and we did what we almost never do, put our foot on the gas and stomped on their necks. Full credit to the players and coaching staff for kicking the shit out of an opponent that didnt seem up for the occasion until the second half.

 

Not a lot of mention has been made - and rightly so - about the fact that Paraguay is ranked 42nd in the FIFA Coca-Cola rankings, while the US is 15th.

In general the rankings don't mean much but still, it helps point to the fact that Uruguay simply isn't all that good.

 

People talk about ELO or Coca Cola rankings or other such nonsense but this is the only metric that matters. Paraguay may suck but it let's wait till they play Turkey / Australia to see.

 

The coaches corner (Gregg, Bruce, and Bob) broke down how usmnt broke apart paraguay. The early high press with the early goal threw paraguay's plan out the window. Then they set up their block to be incredibly compact, so the US had guys running in to out, pulling everyone. Mckennie and dest were key off the ball

 

Thats close but I think youve gotta call it

 

Then it's a good thing we played the best team from S. America -- Paraguay!

 

I think I misspelled it and autocorrect helped me.out. But maybe I just had a brain fart.

Either way, bite me

 

I been busy and didn’t vote ️ but what a performance, just what we needed to jump out and grab 3points with a impressive performance

 

I forgot that we had game day Grouchy threads for US games. @chr1st - you are the best.