The United States went in front against Paraguay in the 10th minute, and the goal felt as fast as the crowd. Weston McKennie found Christian Pulisic, and Bobadilla turned the pass into his own net to put the U.S. ahead in this World Cup 2026 live match.
That was the kind of start people were searching for when they looked up how to stream World Cup 2026 late Saturday night in the U.S., with kickoff at 9 p.m. EDT, 2 a.m. BST and 11 a.m. AEST. The teams walked out to the Alan Parsons classic Sirius, pre-taped player intros rolled, and the first full-stadium U-S-A chants rose as the players took the field, a reminder that this was being played like more than a routine international.
The opening minutes backed up the atmosphere. At 1 minute, Paraguay worked a long free kick from midfield and Matt Freese got a hand to a high ball. At 3 minutes, a long ball found McKennie, who nodded it on to Folarin Balogun, but the shot lacked enough power. At 6 minutes, Chris Richards made a vital intervention to keep Paraguay from settling in. Then came the turning point: Cáceres was booked in the 10th minute, McKennie slipped Pulisic into the move, and Bobadilla redirected the ball straight past his own side.
There was a clean look to the U.S. surge, but not a perfect one. Pulisic went to ground rather easily when Cáceres fouled him, a small piece of theater that muddied the tidy impression of an early American break. Moments later, the U.S. also tried a training-ground free-kick routine and were not on the same page, a reminder that the scoreline and the performance were not quite the same thing.
The match had the feel of a grudge from the start, with a November friendly in Chester, Pa., still hanging over it after that game produced three red cards. Bobadilla then fouled Malik Tillman near midfield at 12 minutes, a sharp little flash of the same edge. For now, the U.S. had the lead and the stadium had its voice, but the bigger question was whether that first punch would hold once Paraguay answered back.
