From Arsenal Academy to American Legend: Folarin Balogun Makes History with Two Goals as USMNT Demolishes Paraguay 4-1 in World Cup Blowout

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The roar of 70,000 fans inside SoFi Stadium wasn’t just for a win. It was for a coronation. On Friday night, the United States Men’s National Team delivered the most electrifying World Cup opener in nearly a century, dismantling Paraguay 4-1 and etching their names into the record books. For the first time in U.S. history, the Americans scored four goals in a World Cup match. And leading the charge was 24-year-old Folarin Balogun, the Brooklyn-born, London-raised Arsenal academy product who became the first American player since 1930 to score multiple goals in a single World Cup game. The chaos began in the sixth minute with a Paraguayan own goal, but Balogun took over from there—striking in the 30th minute and then again just before halftime, curling a breathtaking shot into the top-left corner off a pinpoint pass from Malik Tillman. By the break, the U.S. had a 3-0 stranglehold, and the legend of Balogun was officially born.

But the Americans weren’t finished writing history. Even after captain Christian Pulisic went down with an injury and Paraguay pulled one back in the 73rd minute, the U.S. refused to sit on its lead. In the dying seconds of stoppage time, 23-year-old Gio Reyna slammed home the fourth goal—the historic exclamation point on a 4-1 beatdown that marked the first time the U.S. has won a World Cup game by three goals since… 1930, when it also beat Paraguay. The victory is especially sweet for Balogun, who had the choice to play for England or the U.S. and chose the Stars and Stripes after feeling an overwhelming wave of support from American fans on social media during a 2023 vacation to the States. Now, with three points in the group stage and home-soil momentum surging, the U.S. has sent a thunderous message to the world: this is not your grandfather’s American soccer team. This is a new era. And its name is Balogun.