The United States opened the 2026 World Cup with a commanding 4-1 victory over Paraguay in Los Angeles, yet Mauricio Pochettino insisted the group still has much to prove, as demanding fixtures against Australia and Turkiye await in Group D and early success cannot change the long campaign ahead.

The scoring began in the seventh minute when Damian Bobadilla turned the ball into Paraguay’s own net, giving the hosts the third-fastest opening goal by a World Cup host nation, before Folarin Balogun struck twice and Giovanni Reyna added a stoppage-time finish to complete a confident attacking display.

Pochettino praised the squad’s efforts but made clear that focus must remain sharp for the rest of the group stage, explaining that the players must regard this performance as a base rather than a finished product, given the pressure of hosting and the expectations surrounding the national team at this tournament.

“So, so proud. Players and staff deserved big credit for this performance,” he said, as quoted by BBC Sport. “The most important thing 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. 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.”

Balogun’s double placed the forward alongside Bert Patenaude in national team history, with Balogun becoming only the second United States player to score multiple times in a single World Cup match, matching Patenaude’s feat against Paraguay in 1930, when Patenaude famously netted three goals.

Christian Pulisic created one of Balogun’s strikes and moved to four World Cup goal contributions, with one goal and three assists, leaving Pulisic just behind Landon Donovan, who has five for the United States in tournaments since 1966, underlining Pulisic’s influence whenever the national side appears on the global stage.

The creative midfielder did not appear for the second half, however, after feeling discomfort in a calf following a first-half kick, and Pochettino stressed the medical staff acted with caution so that Pulisic would not aggravate the problem, with hopes Pulisic can recover quickly before facing Australia.

“He received a kick in his calf and he felt tight at the end of the first half,” Pochettino explained. “We didn’t want to take any risks. It was difficult for him to walk, but we hope that it is not a big issue and he can be ready for the next one.”