{"id":2602,"date":"2026-06-13T09:33:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T09:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602"},"modified":"2026-06-13T09:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T09:33:36","slug":"yankee-doodle-dandy-of-a-world-cup-opener-for-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602","title":{"rendered":"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

It was only one match in a tournament that has another five weeks to play out. But for the United States, its stirring 4-1 domination of Paraguay on Friday night was a World Cup opener to dream on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Meet New England\u2019s lone women\u2019s pro softball player: Boston University pitching great Kasey Ricard<\/a><\/p>\n

Any victory would have been cause for confetti for the Americans. Since they returned to this quadrennial footwork festival three dozen years ago they\u2019d only won their first match twice and had to sweat mightily to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

What they pulled off in front of more than 70,000 exuberant followers in Inglewood, Calif., was nothing short of a master stroke. Three goals in the first half, two of them by hitman Folarin Balogun after Paraguay had given the co-hosts an own-goal gift by Dami\u00e1n Bobadilla in the 7th minute.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

No American squad ever had done that in the global tournament. And scoring four against La Albirroja, which only conceded 10 goals in 18 South American qualifying matches, was a startling coup.<\/span><\/p>\n

What was most important about their triumph was that the Yanks, who\u2019ll face Australia in Seattle Friday, did what they were expected to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>United States opens its home World Cup with a dynamic rout of Paraguay<\/div>\n

They\u2019re ranked 17th on the planet; Paraguay is 41st. Half of their players were on the team that reached the second round four years ago. Paraguay hadn\u2019t played a Cup match in 16 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

So the Americans did what they\u2019ve rarely done in an opener. They attacked in numbers and kept attacking. They weren\u2019t worried about getting caught in transition and giving up a goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

After Balogun took a lovely feed from Christian Pulisic to put his mates ahead, 2-0, after 31 minutes, the United States kept coming, kept pressuring, kept creating.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

When Balogun tallied again on the final kick of the first half, Paraguay was finished. La Albirroja didn\u2019t produce more than two goals in any of its qualifiers. Scoring four was beyond unrealistic.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the kind of overpowering display that the American Outlaws, the national team\u2019s fervent but long-frustrated followers, have been craving for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

How often has the United States settled for one point when three were available? How often have the Yanks taken a lead and been unable to close out a match? How often have they had to scramble to salvage a draw?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not really play?\u201d coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in 2014 after the United States went out to Belgium in extra time in the second round.<\/span><\/p>\n

Settling for an opening draw, which the US had done three times since 1990, no longer is enough. That\u2019s what the Americans did when they last hosted, coming from behind to tie Switzerland, 1-1. And they weren\u2019t happy about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Matt Labriola always believed, and so did King Philip as it secured the school\u2019s first baseball title<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt it was a game we should have won,\u201d said John Harkes. \u201cWe came in thinking we should get three points. We played badly and got a point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Time was when one point in a Cup opener was just fine. Italy drew all three of its preliminary outings in 1982 and still went on to lift the trophy.<\/span><\/p>\n

That was when a victory earned only two points. These days, you\u2019ve got to beat somebody to advance. So why wait?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Americans knew that Paraguay would do whatever it could to shut them down. They were prepared for 90 minutes of close quarters, of shoulders and elbows, and cleats at their ankles. That\u2019s how November\u2019s friendly in Philadelphia went, ending in an all-hands scuffle on the sideline.<\/span><\/p>\n

What the Paraguayans weren\u2019t expecting was to be backed up in their own end all night, to see the ball moving around faster than they could get to it, to see the Yanquis keep coming at them even after victory was assured.<\/span><\/p>\n

What was significant about this US performance was the stoppage-time goals by Balogun and Gio Reyna in the 90th+8. The Americans rarely have been in a position to go for a knockout in a Cup match. This time they did it twice.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

As important as the 3 points are, so is the plus-3 in the Americans\u2019 favor. If teams are equal in points in group play, goal differential is a key tiebreaker. That could determine who stays in the tournament and who goes home or playing a group winner or a third-place finisher in the second round.<\/span><\/p>\n

The side benefit to Friday\u2019s breakout is that Paraguay now becomes Uncle Sam\u2019s best friend. La Albirroja at least has to tie Turkey in Friday\u2019s encounter or else could be looking at a quick return home. And if the Turks and Australians draw late Saturday night, that helps the United States, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

That said, winning the Cup opener guarantees nothing. After the Americans stunned Portugal in 2002 and tied host South Korea, they were flattened by Poland and needed help from the Koreans to stay alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

And in 2014 after beating Ghana and tying Portugal, the United States had to rely on goal differential to advance after being blanked by Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, the Yanks never have had a Cup debut like this one. Two and through? Why not for a change?<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more With his dad, a former Red Sox pitcher, at his side, Jeff Plympton Jr. coaches King Philip to first title<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Americans did what they\u2019ve rarely done in an opener. They attacked in numbers and kept attacking. They weren\u2019t worried about getting caught in transition and giving up a goal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nYankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Americans did what they\u2019ve rarely done in an opener. They attacked in numbers and kept attacking. They weren\u2019t worried about getting caught in transition and giving up a goal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-13T09:33:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T09:33:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602\"},\"wordCount\":926,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c0090826e9f98e07dbf1bbe4aee01bc4.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602\",\"name\":\"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c0090826e9f98e07dbf1bbe4aee01bc4.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T09:33:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c0090826e9f98e07dbf1bbe4aee01bc4.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c0090826e9f98e07dbf1bbe4aee01bc4.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":959},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2602#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"The Americans did what they\u2019ve rarely done in an opener. They attacked in numbers and kept attacking. They weren\u2019t worried about getting caught in transition and giving up a goal.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-06-13T09:33:36+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States","datePublished":"2026-06-13T09:33:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602"},"wordCount":926,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c0090826e9f98e07dbf1bbe4aee01bc4.avif","articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602","name":"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c0090826e9f98e07dbf1bbe4aee01bc4.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-13T09:33:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c0090826e9f98e07dbf1bbe4aee01bc4.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c0090826e9f98e07dbf1bbe4aee01bc4.avif","width":1440,"height":959},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2602#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Yankee doodle dandy of a World Cup opener for the United States"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}