Paraguay stumble 4–1 against USA in World Cup opener

Rough opener: Paraguay beaten 4–1 by USA

Paraguay's World Cup campaign started painfully Saturday with a 4–1 defeat to the USA in Group D. Folarin Balogun did the damage, scoring a hat-trick that puts him top of the tournament scoring charts. Miguel Almiron was at the center of the night's biggest controversy: he went down in the box under a challenge from Tim Ream, but VAR intervened and referee Danny Makkelie booked him for simulation instead of awarding a penalty (1) (2). The result leaves Paraguay bottom of the group after the first round of matches and already under serious pressure ahead of the remaining group games.

VAR controversy: Hackett backs Almiron booking

Former FIFA official Keith Hackett praised the VAR intervention that led to Almiron's yellow card for diving. "I applaud the intervention of the VAR on this incident and the referee's response," Hackett said (1). The incident was a turning point, Paraguay were chasing the game and a penalty could have shifted momentum. Instead, Almiron was punished and the USA ran away with it.

Fan reactions

Paraguay fans are not the ones celebrating on Reddit right now, most of the chatter is American supporters marveling at a historic night. It was the first time since 1930 that the USA won a World Cup match by three goals, and the opponent that day was also Paraguay. Chris Richards completed all 83 of his passes, a perfect accuracy rate unmatched at a World Cup since 1966. r/soccer