Damián Bobadilla put the ball into his own net seven minutes into the United States’ Group D match against Paraguay, and the 2026 edition of the tournament had its first own goal before the game had barely settled. The finish gave the Americans an early lead in a contest that arrived with immediate stakes.
That is the answer readers are looking for today: Bobadilla is the player tied to the first own goal of the 2026 World Cup, and the moment came in the third match of the competition, before ten minutes had elapsed. For the United States, it was the kind of opening every team wants when starting a group campaign; for Paraguay, it was a painful error at the worst possible time.
The sequence started with Christian Pulisic driving down the left side and cutting the ball back for support. Weston McKennie then tried to thread a pass into the area, and Bobadilla, trying to clear the danger, redirected the ball into his own goal. It was a small touch with a big consequence, the sort of play that can define a match long after the final whistle.
There was also history in the background. The United States and Paraguay were meeting in a World Cup match for the first time since 1930, a gap of 96 years, and that made the Group D clash feel bigger than a routine opener. A modern tournament milestone and a long-awaited reunion were suddenly joined by one abrupt mistake.
What the early own goal did not tell us was how the match would finish. The record book already had its first own goal of 2026, and Bobadilla’s moment now sits at the center of a game that began with pressure, history and a lead handed away in a flash.
