USMNT 4, Paraguay 1
The Americans did not disappoint in their World Cup debut. Scoring started early when Paraguay put the ball into its own net in the seventh minute, but the U.S. kept pressing and creating chances throughout the match in Los Angeles.
In the 31st minute, Christian Pulisic found Balogun with space in the box, and the Monaco striker poked it cleanly into the bottom right corner of the net. Balogun then doubled his tally in the waning moments of the first half with a cut and finish into the top left corner.
The 24 year old striker delivered a standout World Cup debut. By halftime, the USMNT held a 3-0 lead after the early own goal and Balogun's two goals.
Paraguay got one back late in the second half on a close finish by Maurício. Gio Reyna responded in the final seconds with a beautiful trivela from just inside the box to close things out.
Final stats from the match: possession 63-37 in favor of the USA, shots 17-8 USA, shots on goal 5-1 USA, saves USA 0 and Paraguay 4.
Canada 1, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
Canada is still seeking its first ever win in the competition after a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it did secure its first point. The country's two previous trips to the World Cup ended with three losses each.
The Canadians trailed early after a combination of headers off a corner resulted in a goal by Bosnia and Herzegovina's Jovo Lukic. Canada had plenty of close calls trying to level things before finally breaking through in the 78th minute on a strike in the box by Cyle Larin that got a favorable deflection before ending up in the back of the net.
In the end, it was a deserved result that keeps both teams firmly in the mix with Group B's other contenders, Switzerland and Qatar.
FIFA Addresses Attendance and Empty Seats
Though the first games of the World Cup have certainly been packed, it is a little unclear if they have been explicitly sold out. Some seats in the stadiums have appeared to be empty, amid sky high prices for games, though those prices have been dropping on the secondary market.
On Friday, FIFA put out a slightly defensive statement clarifying that attendance numbers reflect scanned tickets, and saying that empty seats can be explained by fans being on the concourse.
Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match. Please note that, during last night's match in Guadalajara, several ticketed fans could be seen standing in concourses rather than staying in their assigned seats throughout the match.
Ticket sales have dominated the conversation around early tournament attendance.
