The selection of USA defeated this Saturday 2-1 against Paraguay with goals from Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun in a friendly match that both World Cup teams played in Philadelphia (United States).
The match marked Reyna’s return to the national team for the first time since the 2024 Copa América. Son of the historic American captain Claudio Reyna, Gio, 23, has come from a period marked by injuries and ups and downs in the national team.
Reyna responded with a goal and an assist to the first call of the coach, the Argentine Mauricio Pochettino.
He made it 1-0 in the 4th minute of the game with a great header after a perfect cross from Maximilian Arfsten.
It didn’t take long for Paraguay to equalize the match. It was the 10th minute when Álex Arce headed a cross served by Miguel Almirón into the back of the net.
As the minutes passed, Paraguay fell back and the score remained 1-1 until halftime.
Reyna was once again key for the United States’ second goal. The Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder put in the cross that Folarin Balogun would end up putting into the back of the net in the 73rd minute.
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It was a fortuitous play for the United States, which took advantage of a double defensive error by Paraguay.
First, Balogun intercepted a bad back pass from Paraguay. Immediately afterwards, Damián Bobadilla failed to clear Reyna’s cross, leaving the ball dead in the area for the Monaco striker to finish.
The match ended in a monumental fight between players and coaching staff of both teams, sparked by a dispute over a throw-in between Sergio Gómez and Alex Freeman.
Both the United States—host of the 2026 World Cup along with Mexico and Canada—and Paraguay—sixth in the South American qualifiers—will be in the spotlight for the draw to be held on December 5 in Washington.
Pochettino’s men will play another friendly this coming Tuesday, this time against Uruguay in Tampa (Florida). EFE
