World Cup highlights: USA get the party started in LA as Canada pick up first-ever point

Throughout the tournament, Flashscore will bring you the best from the tournament in our World Cup highlights each and every day, so you don't miss a moment of the action.

The headlines

The USA, according to former star turned Fox Sports pundit Alexei Lalas, produced the ‘best first-half performance in a men’s World Cup group game’, beating Paraguay 4-1 to send the nation into delirium.

Even if Lalas’ memory could be considered short, the US were in control of the contest against the South Americans throughout, as Folarin Balogun, an Arsenal academy product, netted twice in the first half to lead his side to victory.

An own goal from Damian Bobadilla got the party started at the SoFi Stadium, before Balogun struck twice and substitute Giovanni Reyna settled the game with a sumptuous finish in second-half stoppage time.

It was the first time the US had scored four in a World Cup game, a sign that this could be the best side to represent their nation on the biggest stage, but perhaps not as incredible as Lalas believes.

Before the USA got their tournament started, Canada were the second of the three hosts to get their campaign underway, in a 1-1 draw against Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Southampton's Cyle Larin came off the bench to earn the Canucks their first-ever World Cup point, netting 12 minutes from time through a deflected effort.

Bosnia, valiant in defence throughout, opened the scoring through a set-play - an already common occurrence in this tournament - as Jovo Lukic nodded home from close range.

Jovic became the first non-Romanian-based player to play in the Romanian league and score at a World Cup - if you can find a more niche stat from the day’s action, Flashscore would love to hear it.

Goal of the day

At one point in his still burgeoning career, Reyna was considered the hottest prospect from the US. Despite struggling to live up to that high expectation, he came off the bench against Paraguay to score a wonderful goal.

Picking up the ball on the outside of the area, the Borussia Monchengladbach forward strode on before bringing out his inner Luka Modric to score a ‘trivela’ past the diving Paraguay keeper, Orlando Gil.

Composure and talent was on show throughout in perhaps the US’s best all-round performance at the World Cup, and Reyna’s finish personified that. Only time will tell whether they can build on this fine victory.

Player of the day

Using Flashscore's new-and-improved player ratings system, one player stood out from the rest on the second day of the World Cup, and that was Balogun with a 9.0 out of 10.

The Brooklyn-born, London-bred striker was composed and clinical against his South American opposition, scoring a brace on his World Cup debut to help the US to all three points.

Both goals were calmly taken, but it was his second that stood out - a powerful finish into the top corner that left the keeper with no chance.

Perhaps most interesting of all was the fact that USMNT manager, Mauricio Pochettino, removed him from the game with 20 minutes to go, not allowing him to complete his hat-trick. This, for some, will be seen as a slight on the Monaco forward, but with two big group games to come, it suggests the importance that he has in the team, and Pochettino is trying to keep him as fresh as possible for the challenges to come.

Fan of the day

With the US starting their World Cup in LA, it was always going to be a day for celebrity spotting. Brad Pitt, David Beckham and Tom Cruise were all in attendance, but our favourite spot of the day came from Toronto, where a nervous-looking Mike Myers appeared on the coverage for a split second, seemingly sat in amongst the home faithful to share in the once-in-a-lifetime moment.

Best from social media

Plenty to choose from today given the two hosts in action, but the most wholesome sight certainly came from Toronto, as both sets of fans from the game mingled before kick-off, high-fiving and getting amongst it.