How Good Is The USMNT? And How Bad Is Paraguay?

BusinessSportsMoneyHow Good Is The USMNT? And How Bad Is Paraguay?ByIan Nicholas Quillen,Contributor.Follow AuthorJun 13, 2026, 02:15pm EDTCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 31: Falarin Balogun of United States celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the international friendly match between United States and Senegal at Bank of America Stadium on May 31, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThe United States men’s national team’s performance in Friday night’s 4-1 was stylish, dominating and even historic.And yet for longtime USMNT fans and new arrivals the same who knew vaguely of the program’s history, there was a common sentiment: Is this real?While 1990s Teri Hatcher would indeed reply in the affirmative, the nagging disbelief is relatable. After all, this was the highest-scoring World Cup final performance in program history and its first three-goal win since the inaugural tournament in 1930.But in an expanded World Cup Field, where the United States also received Pot 1 seeding as a co-host nation and played before a deeply partisan home crowd, the urge to recalibrate and throw water on the moment is also probably wise, given that amazing performances – was well as awful ones – often disguise a teasm’s true quality. And you can also only consider one team’s level if you also have an accurate sense of the other.How Good Is The USMNT?In the basic sense, it’s probably fair to say American fans should be re-adjusting their expectations upward, for two reasons.The first is that Friday night’s performance pretty clearly showed that everything that came before from this group under Mauricio Pochettino was experimentation, with the primary focus of building to these three matches.MORE FOR YOUYou don’t attack with the level of clarity and precision the Americans showed without a deliberate sense of your identity that has probably been known within the side for several weeks now, even as Pochettino tinkered arou...