CHESTER, Pa. – With goals from Gio Reyna in the first half and Folarin Balogun in the second, the U.S. men’s national team downed Paraguay, 2-1, to reinforce what has been a solid run of form over the past three international windows.

The U.S. is now unbeaten across its last four games — all against World Cup-qualified opponents.

Reyna, making his first appearance with the U.S. since the disastrous March Nations League camp — a window in which he played just 21 minutes in a third-place match as he tried to regain fitness and form — didn’t take long to make an impression. Max Arfsten used a nice stepover and acceleration on the right side and sent in a cross that Reyna rose and headed off the underside of the crossbar, where it bounced behind the goal line and then into the upper netting to give the Americans a lead. The fourth-minute finish was the first headed goal of Reyna’s career, according to TruMedia, and it pushed him past his father, Claudio Reyna, with his ninth national-team goal.

It didn’t take long, though, for Paraguay to find the equalizer.

Just one long ball from the back line over the top sprung Miguel Almirón past Joe Scally, the Borussia Monchengladbach defender who was also back in the team for the first time since March. Almirón sprinted into the open space and played a ball across the goal to Alex Arce, who was in front of the trailing Miles Robinson and Tim Ream and put a diving header easily past Matt Freese from just five yards out.

Reyna was involved again on the second goal. Diego Luna’s fantastic defensive pressure led to an awful turnover in Paraguay’s defensive third right onto the foot of Balogun. The forward held the ball and dropped it off for the overlapping Reyna, whose pass looking for Cristian Roldan in the box deflected off the heel of a Paraguayan defender. Balogun was there to clean up the loose ball in the box and buried it to lift the U.S. to the win.

It continues a hot run of form for the U.S. forward, who has three goals in his last four games for his country and very much looks the part of the starting No. 9.

Things took an aggressive turn in the 91st minute, as a brawl broke out between the U.S. and Paraguay next to the benches when Alex Freeman and Gustavo Gomez started wrestling over a ball for a throw-in. Robinson was ripped backwards by several Paraguayan player as he ran into the scrum. The fight lasted about two minutes and Paraguay’s Omar Alderete was red-carded on the bench after the players were separated.

The U.S. will take that fight into its next match, Tuesday against Uruguay in Tampa, Fla.

Here’s a deeper look at Saturday’s win:

Gio Reyna back with a bang

Reyna’s inclusion in this November squad turned heads and raised questions about Mauricio Pochettino’s selection process. Reyna entered this week having played fewer club minutes since Aug. 1 than any other player in the USMNT picture. He had made just one start of any competitive kind, for club or country, since March 1. He hadn’t contributed to a goal since January.

And on Saturday, despite all that, he showed why Pochettino picked him; why the head coach called him an “enormous talent” and “special situation”; and why he could — not will, but could — help the USMNT at the World Cup.

He wasn’t brilliant. He barely sprinted. You could argue that his slow, leisurely pressing contributed to the defensive breakdown on Paraguay’s first-half goal.

But he was clean on the ball. He saw passes that nobody else did or could. There was one in the 30th minute, a seemingly blind, first-time, 30-yard ball with a man on his back out to Sergiño Dest on the right, that reminded everyone of his quality.

There was also the goal, the moment that everyone will see; and the contribution to Balogun’s goal. But there were a dozen other moments that highlight reels won’t capture, moments when, if you zeroed in on Reyna, you could see how he helps this team and why some teammates like playing with him.

“When I have him on the field with me on the national team, I always feel a lot more relaxed,” Christian Pulisic said in a recent interview with CBS Sports. “I feel like he’s a really, really good player.”

Arfsten continues to make his case

Going into January camp in 2025, Max Arfsten was a longshot to be in the mix for the U.S. World Cup team.

But Arfsten learned long before that “everyone’s journey is different.” The left wingback played college soccer. He didn’t make the San Jose Earthquakes first team. He played just 12 games in his first season in Columbus.

But, as laid out wonderfully in this profile earlier in the week, Arfsten turned his chance with the U.S. team into a featured role — and potentially a starting job at next summer’s World Cup. Arfsten has played more minutes than any other field player besides captain Tim Ream. He isn’t taking it for granted.

“Every time I come here, I still feel a massive point to prove,” Arfsten says. “That’s how I approach everything at this point.”

On Saturday, he provided the assist to Reyna with a nifty stepover, sprint and cross with his “off” right foot, and was solid again over 90 minutes at left back.

With Antonee Robinson’s knee injury lingering far longer than anyone wanted and the Fulham left back still trying to work back on the field, Arfsten might just meet his dream in 2026.

“I want to play in Europe, I want to play in the World Cup,” he said. “I feel like those are the two next steps for me.”

Max Arfsten and Folarin Balogun during the USA's 2-1 win over Paraguay

Max Arfsten and Folarin Balogun during the USA’s 2-1 win over Paraguay (Omar Vega / Getty Images)

Unbeaten run stretches to four

The U.S.’s improved run of form has coincided with Pochettino switching to a 3-4-2-1 system in September. He changed mid-game during a hefty loss to South Korea, but the group showed signs of improvement immediately upon the switch.

In the following four matches, the USMNT beat Japan (2-0), drew Ecuador (1-1) and beat Australia and Paraguay (both 2-1). All four nations have qualified for the World Cup.

An identity and structure has come with the shift, even as the players have changed more than the staff may have liked. Without Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson and Weston McKennie this window, the U.S. still had positive moments against Paraguay and came away with a positive result, if an imperfect performance.

The group did move more to a 4-2-3-1 with second half subs to bring on Luna and Freeman for Scally and Dest.

Pochettino constantly stresses the importance of competition, both in matches to fight for every blade of grass and in training to maintain a place in the lineup or the squad in general.

This is a group that has been fighting and much more cohesive over the last few months. It comes in the aftermath of what was easily the nadir of the Pochettino era in the spring/summer, culminating with a blowout loss to Switzerland before the Gold Cup and a public spat with Pulisic.

Pochettino and his staff not only righted the ship, but are starting to build momentum towards the World Cup.