Gio belongs on the team. The dude just has a level of skill and innate nose for the goal which are somewhat unique in our talent pool. Hopefully that goal raises his confidence and we see more of this as the tournament goes on.
Nobody on either side seemed to complain about the pitch afterward, but yeah odd amount of slips. Other than that I forgot it was grass on top of turf.
All the talk on this side of the Pond is about Balogun and Pulisic but If Tillman's decision-making in the final third had been just a fraction better, it'd have finished 6-1 or more. Games are won and lost in midfield and him and Adams completely shut the door on Paraguay on the very rare occasions when they managed to escape the press. The result was inevitable after that but Tillman was so, so, good going forward. A complete box-to-box midfield performance
McKennnie was just as good, assisted for the first two and was right on the spot for the third and fourth, defensively sound as a pound and his constant passing and movement was as good as anyone's.
Not exactly akin in style and strengths to Sanneh in 2002, but similar impact. You always need engines like that.
I would go even further and say one of the issues last tournament was we’d go up 1-0 against Wales or Iran and couldn’t quite out them away and it led to us having to expend way too much energy in both games. Whereas one of the hallmarks of a team that does well in a tournament setting is they get an insurmountable lead and take the foot off the gas a bit such that they don’t have to empty the tank every game. Now the dynamics are also a bit different this World Cup since much more time off between games.
I was impressed with McKennie. Some really clean touches. Fingers crossed this midfield stays healthy and unburdened with cards.
3+ - Players with 3+ shots, created chances, dribbles, ball recoveries in the final third and fouls won in a single FIFA World Cup game this century:Eden Hazard v Panama in 2018Eden Hazard v Tunisia in 2018Neymar v Mexico in 2018Malik Tillman v Paraguay in 2026 🆕Overall. pic.twitter.com/q8IRSnHiFs— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) June 13, 2026
That team just couldn't score. Also Adams and particularly McKennie weren't particularly fit and didn't get the recovery time they're going to get this time around.
I haven’t seen anyone complain about the fields yet but I have seen a number of stories from NFL players who are not happy that these fields are changing to grass for the World Cup but not for their games. Nuanced story here on the transition of NFL fields from artificial to natural surfaces for the World Cup. "If they're able to figure it out for other organizations and other groups playing, they probably can figure it out for us." Via @JordanRaanan...https://t.co/hEuhaTwq8R— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) June 12, 2026 When the United States Men’s National Team plays at SoFi Stadium today, they will be stepping onto newly installed natural grass. NFL players say that’s a “slap in the face.”https://t.co/cJLsJR6OyM— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) June 12, 2026
Kudos to Orlando Florida fans and ussf and others for recruiting Balogun. the news at the time said that Balogun's mother was very influential. kudos to her too
In any game getting the first goal is crucial, but especially in this game. Paraguay was concacafing us from the start by slowing the game down deliberately with their slow throw ins.
This was, bar none, the best ever WC performance by a US team and that includes the 2002 drubbing of Portugal. That was an ambush; this was playing another team off the park. Courtois and Lammens had better have their gloves well padded. David Raya too.
if Balogun chose England, he would have been Kane’s backup. Good choice on his part. I do wonder if this version of Malik would have made Germanys team. Certainly wouldn’t be starting though.
First time in history that USMNT has a really good No. 9. That 3rd goal was the best goal in this match, Balogun beat 3 players by himself and a great finish.