US thrash Paraguay 4-1 for dream World Cup start

U.S. forward Folarin Balogun scored a brace in front of ​a rapturous American crowd as the ‌World Cup co-hosts romped to a 4-1 victory over Paraguay on Friday in their Group ​D opener.

After seven minutes, a ​swift combination from Weston McKennie and Christian ⁠Pulisic split the opposition defence and ​ended in Paraguay midfielder Damian Bobadilla touching ​the ball into his own net.

Balogun doubled their lead in the 31st minute as the U.S. ​attackers seemed to be able to ​cut through the Paraguay defence at will.

The ‌24-year-old ⁠grabbed his second on the stroke of halftime with a fine strike into the top left corner.

Paraguay's Mauricio pulled a ​goal back ​in the ⁠73rd minute after being set up by Julio Enciso. However, ​Giovanni Reyna completed the rout ​for ⁠the U.S. in stoppage time, finishing with the outside of his boot.

The U.S. face ⁠Australia ​on June 19 in ​Seattle, while Paraguay travel to San Francisco to face ​Turkey.

- Reuters