The United States opened its World Cup campaign last Friday with a 4-1 win over Paraguay, a scoreline that did more than start the tournament with a victory. It delivered the Americans’ biggest goal haul ever in a World Cup game and, for one night, made them look like a team with authority instead of a team still searching for one.
Christian Pulisic was at the center of it. He was one of four Americans who dribbled past an opposing defender three or more times, and he and Sergiño Dest kept gliding past double-teams that might have stalled a less daring side. That kind of pressure showed up early in the numbers, too: the United States had 27 touches in the Paraguay penalty area in the first half, while Paraguay managed only three touches in the U.S. box.
The result mattered because it came in a World Cup opener, where the first impression can shape the rest of a campaign. The United States has spent much of the past decade trying to define itself after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, then building around younger talent while top names moved through Chelsea, Barcelona and Juventus in the years that followed. This group has had moments that hinted at more, including the 2022 win over the Netherlands, but also setbacks that undercut the promise, from fourth place in the 2024 Nations League after losses to Panama and Canada to a group-stage exit at the 2024 Copa América and a runner-up finish to Mexico at the Gold Cup last summer.
That is what gives this win its weight. Paraguay has been a difficult opponent in recent years, with a defensive identity that has bothered the Americans and a habit of taking down elite South American teams, yet it was the United States that controlled the match and kept pushing. The open question is not whether this was impressive. It was. The question is whether Pulisic and the rest can carry that same sharpness into the matches ahead, because one dominant night is not the same as a team identity, and the World Cup will test whether this version of the Americans is real.
