Team United States defeated Paraguay 4-1 on Friday night in its first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles.

The U.S. is part of Group D, which also consists of Paraguay, Australia and Turkey. Australia and Turkey will have their first match on Sunday.  

The first point of the game was driven by left midfielder Christian Pulisic, who also plays for the soccer club AC Milan. The point was made after Pulisic kicked the ball to another teammate but the kick caused Paraguay to score against itself with a kick from its own Damián Bobadilla.

U.S. forward Folarin Balogun scored the second and third goals of the match. Paraguay eventually scored a goal on its own in the second half. 

Several notable U.S. leaders were in the audience, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

The United States is scheduled to host 78 out of the 104 matches, which will be sprawled out across 11 cities in the U.S., and five cities between Canada and Mexico. Some U.S. cities include Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. 

The matches in Canada and Mexico will take place in Toronto, Vancouver, Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey.

The teams consist of 1,248 players from 48 countries.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.