The United States national team defeated Paraguay 2-1 in Philadelphia on Saturday thanks to goals from Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun, in a friendly match that brought together two teams already qualified for the 2026 World Cup. The match marked Reyna's long-awaited return to the national team, almost a year after his last appearance in the Copa America.

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The midfielder, son of the legendary Claudio Reyna, was coming off a period marked by injuries and inconsistent playing time. This time, he responded with a decisive performance: he scored the first goal and assisted the second. Just four minutes in, Maximilian Arfsten sent in a precise cross and Reyna connected with a perfect header for 1-0.

The lead was short-lived. Paraguay equalized in the 10th minute when Alex Arce headed in a cross from Miguel Almiron, momentarily silencing the American fans. After that early blow, the South American team dropped back, allowing the score to remain 1-1 until halftime despite several attacks from the home side. The second half was more tense, with Paraguayan errors and a heated ending. In the second half, Reyna again influenced the scoreline. He delivered the cross that led to Folarin Balogun's goal in the 73rd minute, although the play was marred by two mistakes in the Paraguayan defense. First, Balogun intercepted a poor back pass. Then, Damian Bobadilla failed to clear Reyna's cross, leaving the ball perfectly placed for the Monaco striker to tap in for 2-1. The end of the match, far from being calm, concluded with a heated brawl involving players and members of both coaching staffs. It all started with a dispute over a throw-in between Sergio Gomez and Alex Freeman, which ignited tempers in the final stretch. With the victory, the United States continues to fine-tune its preparations for the World Cup draw on December 5 in Washington, where it will share a pot with Paraguay, currently sixth in the South American qualifiers.Mauricio Pochettino's team will return to the pitch this Tuesday to face Uruguay in Tampa. In a press conference, the Argentine coach praised the team's performance but emphasized that they need to take further steps forward. "We were better against a team that I consider very competitive and difficult to beat. But that's not enough," he stated. He then added, "We're happy, yes, but we have to keep going, keep going, and keep going, because we need to improve, improve, and improve, and arrive at the World Cup at our best, at our peak." Pochettino also spoke about the character shown by his players. "The challenge now is to maintain this fighting spirit and ability to compete. This shouldn't be something extraordinary, but rather the defining characteristic of the national team," he noted. He also took the opportunity to send a direct message to the fans ahead of the World Cup, which the United States will host along with Mexico and Canada. "We need our fans to continue to follow and support the national team. We need to build that relationship," he said. “That is my message to our fans: keep pushing, believe in the national team, believe in our colors.”

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