[Anchor]
The U.S. national team, a co-host led by manager Mauricio Pochettino—known as the mentor of Son Heung-min—showed its strength with a resounding victory over Paraguay. Meanwhile, Canada, another co-host, started its campaign with a draw.
Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the story.
[Reporter]
At the opening ceremony held in Los Angeles, Lisa of the world-famous K-pop girl group BLACKPINK took the stage and electrified a crowd of 70,000. The match that followed was equally passionate.
The U.S. took the lead just seven minutes into the game following an own goal by the opponent.
Even after taking the lead, the U.S. kept up the pressure, led by striker Folarin Balogun, against Paraguay, a team that had the second-fewest goals conceded in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
In the 31st minute, Balogun scored his debut World Cup goal after receiving a pass from Christian Pulisic. Just before halftime, he outmuscled a defender and fired a powerful left-footed shot into the net, sending the home fans into a frenzy.
Balogun became the first player in the tournament to score multiple goals in a single match.
With victory already in sight, the U.S. did not stop its offensive even in second-half stoppage time, adding a fantastic clincher from Giovanni Reyna to finish the opening match with a 4-1 victory. Manager Pochettino secured his first win in his World Cup debut.
[Mauricio Pochettino/U.S. National Soccer Team Manager: The performance was excellent, and the players fought really well. We are very happy. But this is just the beginning.]
In Group B, another co-host, Canada, drew 1-1 with Bosnia.
Canada fell behind early but salvaged a precious point in the 78th minute when forward Cyle Larin, who had been substituted just two minutes prior, scored the equalizer. This marked Canada's first-ever point in its seventh match across three World Cup appearances.
(Video Editing: Park Jung-sam)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
U.S. Led by 'Son Heung-min's Mentor' Pochettino Secures Big Win in Opener
By Hong Seok-jun | Jun 13, 2026
