The Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the official delegation of the Trump administration at the debut of the United States men's national team in the FIFA World Cup 2026, held this Friday at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles before more than 70,000 spectators.
The United States defeated Paraguay 4-1 in Group D of the tournament, marking the largest victory for the U.S. team in World Cup history.
Rubio posted on his official X account that it was "an incredible and historic night for the U.S. men's team" and that he felt "honored to join over 70,000 fans at the first match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 held in the United States."
Trump did not attend the stadium, but personally called coach Mauricio Pochettino and the team captain on Thursday to cheer them on, telling them that "the pressure is off" and to "have fun."
Rubio's presence also had a diplomatic dimension: he took advantage of the event to meet bilaterally with the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, with an agenda that included regional security, trade, investments, and cooperation in emerging technologies.
The State Department stated that the goal was "to advance the strategic partnership between the United States and Paraguay."
Peña, one of the Latin American leaders most aligned with Trump, traveled to the U.S. from June 11 to June 15 to support his national team during their World Cup debut.
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, was also present in the box.
In the sporting arena, the standout player of the match was forward Folarin Balogun, who scored twice and became the first American to net two goals in a World Cup match since Bert Patenaude in 1930.
The match started with an own goal by Paraguayan Damián Bobadilla in the seventh minute, the result of a combined play between Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie.
Balogun extended the lead in the 31st minute with an assist from Pulisic and scored his second goal in stoppage time of the first half, sending the team to halftime with a historic 3-0 lead.
It was the first time in history that the U.S. ended the first half with a three-goal lead in a World Cup.
Paraguay scored in the 73rd minute; Gio Reyna, who came on in the 82nd minute, sealed the final score at 4-1 in stoppage time.
The attendance of 70,492 spectators was the highest for the U.S. men's national team at a World Cup since 1994, the year the country last hosted the tournament.
Trump congratulated the team on Truth Social this Saturday: "Congratulations to Team USA for their great victory, 4-1, over a very good team from Paraguay. Keep it up!".
Coach Pochettino expressed that he was "very, very, very proud" of the team's performance following the victory.
The next match for the U.S. in the 2026 World Cup will be on June 19 in Seattle against Australia.
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