Balogun’s Brace Lifts World Cup Favorites USA Past Paraguay 4-1
World cup favorites turned in a statement at SoFi Stadium on Friday night, beating Paraguay 4-1 behind Folarin Balogun’s two-goal first half. The result gave the USA its first four-goal match in World Cup play and shifted Balogun’s Golden Boot position after one of the sharpest attacking nights in recent memory.
Balogun scored in the 31st minute to make it 2-0, then added another in first-half stoppage time to push the lead to 3-0. The USA had never scored four goals in a World Cup match before Friday, and the final margin came after a game in which the Americans had been a popular betting choice across the country.
Balogun Sets the Tempo
The first goal changed the shape of the night. Balogun’s 31st-minute finish put the USMNT ahead 2-0, and his stoppage-time strike before halftime stretched the cushion to 3-0, giving the home side control before Paraguay could settle into the match.
That double also altered the market around him. Balogun moved to +1600 in Golden Boot odds after the match, placing him behind only four players on the list. Kylian Mbappé sat as the +600 favorite, followed by Harry Kane at +650, Mikel Oyarzabal at +1000 and Erling Haaland at +1400.
USA Rewrites Its World Cup Ceiling
The four-goal outburst stood out because it had never happened for the USA in World Cup play. At the 2022 World Cup, the team scored two goals across its three group-play matches, so Friday’s total marked a clear jump in production against a Paraguay side that had looked strong defensively in CONMEBOL qualifying.
That contrast also explains why the night hit so hard in betting circles. Before the World Cup began, BetMGM had sent out Golden Boot odds for 56 players, and Balogun was not among the original names on the board. One match was enough to move him into the conversation.
BetMGM Counts the Tickets
Seamus Magee summed up the clean sweep for bettors: “USA moneyline, USA -1.5 goals, Balogun with two goals and both teams to score all hit.” He added, “It was a very good day for USA backers and BetMGM bettors across the country,” and, “It was a very fruitful day for a lot of customers.”
John Murray also captured the scale of the result: “I never thought I’d see the day that the U.S. scored four goals in one World Cup match.” For Balogun, the next step is already baked into the odds board. He has the brace, the market move and a path into a crowded race that still runs through Mbappé, Kane, Oyarzabal and Haaland.
