The first half in particular was 45 minutes of perfection, broken only by three minutes of needless hydration<\/a>. One of America\u2019s nagging concerns in recent years has been the lack of a ruthless striker but Monaco forward Folarin Balogun scored three times, one of which was ruled out for offside, and the last of which was a brilliantly composed and precise finish into the top corner of Orlando Gill\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n That strike wrapped a half full of endeavour and spirit, but also technical quality and intelligent movement. Pochettino has spent most of his two-year reign as manager testing and tweaking, trying to find the right balance between attack and defence, between left and right, and here his team worked in seamless sync.<\/p>\n Lawrence Ostlere <\/strong>reports from SoFi Stadium:<\/p>\n Read more<\/p>\n Lawrence Ostlere at SoFi Stadium13 June 2026 05:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Pochettino hails fan support<\/p>\n Mauricio Pochettino has hailed the support of the American fans as the US got off to the perfect start at the World Cup.<\/p>\n “Amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is what we were waiting for. When you talk about America, that passion, that feeling. Now they realise that soccer in America is massive, it’s big.”<\/p>\n Will Castle13 June 2026 06:30<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Will Castle13 June 2026 06:15<\/p>\n <\/a>Why did VAR overturn Tim Ream\u2019s yellow card during USA v Paraguay?<\/p>\n USA received an unusual reprieve during their opening World Cup game against Paraguay as captain Tim Ream<\/a> had his yellow card overturned following an intervention by VAR<\/a>.<\/p>\n USA were leading 3-0 when Ream chased Paraguay winger Miguel Almiron<\/a> towards America\u2019s byline. Almiron went to ground and Ream was shown a yellow card for his challenge, but replays showed there was no contact between the pair and that Almiron had dived.<\/p>\n The game was paused as \u201cVAR check \u2013 mistaken identity\u201d flashed up on giant screens around the SoFi Stadium. And after the Dutch referee, Danny Makkelie, consulted his pitchside monitor, he rescinded the yellow card shown to US defender Ream and instead issued a yellow to Almiron for simulation.<\/p>\n The moment was bizarre. VAR interventions are not allowed for correcting yellow cards and are restricted to moments in the game involving goals, penalties, red cards and mistaken identity. But this appeared not to be a case of mistaken identity but simply a mistake by the referee in his reading of the incident.<\/p>\n Will Castle13 June 2026 06:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Empty seats at USA\u2019s opening World Cup match after ticket price controversy<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t all sunshine and roses for the USA\u2019s World Cup image…<\/p>\n The USA\u2019s opening match played out in front of more empty seats to raise further questions about Fifa<\/a>\u2019s ticket prices for the tournament.<\/p>\n The World Cup co-hosts played their first match against Paraguay at the 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, but it failed to sell out. Pockets of empty seats could be seen clearly in the middle and lower tiers either side of the halfway line, in some of the most expensive parts of the stadium.<\/p>\n Tickets remained on sale in the hours before kick-off but at extremely high prices, ranging between $1,940 and $2,735 in the Category 1 and Category 2 tiers. Last month, US president Donald Trump even said he \u201cwouldn\u2019t pay\u201d the four-figure prices <\/a>fans were quoted for to attend the USA-Paraguay match.<\/p>\n Will Castle13 June 2026 05:45<\/p>\n <\/a>Will England be regretting letting Folarin Balogun slip through their grasp?<\/p>\n A reminder that Folarin Balogun, a youth product of Arsenal, was an England U21 international before switching allegiance to the USA.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been thriving at Monaco this season, bagging 19 goals, and has clearly carried that form into the World Cup. It was some display from the striker tonight.<\/p>\n He obviously wouldn\u2019t be starting ahead of Harry Kane – but given the questions around his deputy, should England be regretting letting Balogun slip through their grasp?<\/p>\n Will Castle13 June 2026 05:30<\/p>\n <\/a>More from Pochettino<\/p>\n “So, so proud,\u201d US manager Pochettino said. \u201cPlayers and staff deserved big credit for this performance.<\/p>\n “The most important is the performance and the feeling. We know it is only the start and it is nothing. It is only one game. Now we need to be intelligent to keep [going] in that direction.<\/p>\n “But we are so happy because the first game is always so difficult, hosting the World Cup, the expectation but we managed the expectation and pressure. The first 45 minutes were amazing, difficult to find a team to play like this. So happy and so proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Castle13 June 2026 05:15<\/p>\n <\/a>How that leaves Group D<\/p>\n Australia and Turkey begin their campaign tomorrow evening, but let\u2019s just confirm how Group D looks after tonight\u2019s result:<\/p>\n 1. United States – 3 points, +3 GD<\/p>\n 2. Australia – 0 points, 0 GD<\/p>\n 3. Turkey – 0 points, 0 GD<\/p>\n 4. Paraguay – 0 points, -3 GD<\/p>\n Will Castle13 June 2026 04:50<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2281321770...jpeg\")
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