What a night for USA!
Pochettino’s side have flexed their muscles as one of the dark horses of the World Cup this evening, with Paraguay outgunned throughout.
Aside from a brief spell in the middle of the second half, they were in total control of this opener in LA and, to their manager’s credit, played without fear on a night where nerves could easily have got the better of them.
Balogun was the star of the show, getting on the scoresheet twice and looking a constant threat in the final third. But the likes of Pulisic, Dest, McKennie and substitute Reyna were also mightily impressive.
It’s still early days, but such a convincing win will only fuel confidence ahead of their next outing against Australia. And if they do a similar job on the Aussies, who’s to say they can’t break past the Round of 16 hurdle this year?
American soccer will be dreaming of a deep run in the knockout stages after this breathtaking opener.