Folarin Balogun Matched USMNT Feat Last Seen Nearly 100 Years Ago

The United States Men’s National Team opened up their World Cup in exciting fashion, capturing a thrilling 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the first game for Group D.

American soccer great Alexi Lalas called it “the perfect game” for the USMNT and “fun” to witness, praising multiple players for their performances on the pitch.

Things got started early when Paraguay scored an own goal to give the United States a 1-0 lead, but Folarin Balogun stepped up for his team’s next two scores.

He nailed his first goal at the 31-minute mark off an assist from teammate Christian Pulisic, increasing the USMNT lead to 2-0, then added his second in the five minutes of extra time before the half.

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With that scoring feat, Baolgun became the first USMNT player to score multiple goals in a World Cup game in 96 years. The last player to accomplish that was Bert Patenaude, who achieved a hat trick in a USMNT win against Paraguay in 1930.

Balogun also moved into fifth on the USMNT’s all-time goals scored in the World Cup, joining a list featuring former greats Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan.

Unsurprisingly, Balogun was named the Superior Player of the Match for his performance in this year’s impressive start to the USMNT’s Group games. The matchup took place in front of 70,000 excited fans in California, and things remained rocking after the end of the match as fans chanted “USA, USA!”

Balogun’s two goals arrived at a much-needed time to potentially kickstart a run for the USMNT. While it’s only the first game of Group D, they currently lead the standings with three points, with that three-goal differential a great start.

One thing many will be monitoring will be Christian Pulisic’s situation, as the star forward didn’t return for the second half of his team’s first World Cup game. It could’ve been a rest situation, or something else, with details unknown as of this report.

Balogun’s performance, coupled with a goal in the game’s final minutes of extra time by Giovanni Reyna, should give this team plenty of momentum to build on. Having the games on their home soil is also a massive boost, which will likely be the case again in their next Group D matchup.

Next up, the USMNT will play against Australia at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, on Friday, June 19.

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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 1:04 PM.