Photo courtesy of Cal Gulbish
The World Cup is finally here!
What’s felt like years or endless deposits into secret savings accounts reserved for tickets, however you’ve kept track of time, the U.S. is once again hosting the beautiful game on the world stage. Anyone fortunate enough to attend some of the games in 1994 likely still carries those memories. I did not attend, but it was the first World Cup where I tried to watch every single game. Next to the VCR, I had stacks of VHS tapes labeled with the games and scores, sometimes pre-recorded, other times recorded live while pausing for the commercials.
I remember my dad and I coming home from a summer league game, and my brother and his friend running outside to tell us the U.S. beat Colombia. That was then the U.S.’s biggest world cup win since the famous 1950 1-0 win over England. I remember the 4th of July loss to Brazil where 1-0 felt like a win because hanging with the world’s best meant we were improving, a mantra that has been repeated ever World Cup since. The 1994 World Cup had Cinderella runs by Bulgaria, led by Hristo Stoichkov, and Romania and Georgie Hagi, countries and players I’d experienced for the first time because of our advanced technology called cable.
Most importantly, ’94 gave us Romario, Baggio, Klinsmann, Matthaus, Bergkamp, and the unforgettable Maradona versus Greece before his rapid fall from grace. I must have watched Brazil-Netherlands and Argentina-Nigeria tapes at least a dozen times. As a young player, hooked on the game, I’d then go out into the backyard, the basement, or wait until the next summer league game to emulate those players.
It’s those memories that keep the game alive in our hearts and souls. The World Cup has always been a special event for soccer fans in this country, but hosting World Cup games and having local connections has made it even better.
Here’s to creating new memories in 2026.
U.S. Makes Great First Impression in 4-1 Win over Paraguay
Christian Pulisic set up two goals, and Folarin Balogun scored a first-half brace to lead the U.S. to a 4-1 win over Paraguay in their opening game of Group D.
Many have already called it the greatest U.S. win in a World Cup, but many who remember drinking beer at 5:00 a.m. to witness the U.S. defeat Portugal 3-2 in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup will disagree. That Portugal team, who were World Cup contenders, never made it out their group, and the U.S. went on to reach the quarterfinals, their longest run in the tournament.
Friday night’s game came as a bit of a surprise, considering the U.S. had been in mediocre form leading up to the World Cup. The Americans looked out of their element against friendly losses to Portugal and Belgium in March, but showed signs of readiness in a 3-2 win over Senegal and a 2-1 loss to Germany two weeks ago.
Last summer, the U.S. lost to Mexico 2-1 in the Concacaf Gold Cup final and Panama 1-0 in the Nations League semifinals, which asked questions about their improvements from 2022. In the expanded Copa America 2024, the U.S. failed to make it out of their group, which began the two-year-long debate about whether the current core of players were good enough to advance in the 48-team World Cup on home soil.
Hershey, PA’s Pulisic, who played for PA Classics before signing with Borussia Dortmund at age 16, showed his quality when he attacked down the left side, taking on four players to force an own goal just seven minutes into the game. Later in the half, Pulisic broke free down the wing again and set up Balogun at the spot for a 2-0 lead. Balogun scored his second in stoppage time to give the U.S. a 3-0 advantage heading into the break.
Paraguay pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute but couldn’t find another, and Gio Reyna’s beauty just before the final whistle put the Americans in an ideal position after the first round of games. The U.S. will now face Australia in Seattle on Friday in a battle for the top of the group. Australia pulled off a mild 2-0 upset over Turkiye in their opener and will have their own sights set on advancing with at least a point.
Media’s Matt Freese Makes World Cup Debut
Matt Freese has come a long way from the Episcopal Academy to the U.S. number one keeper at the World Cup. The Harvard grad and former Union player burst onto the national scene last year after several successful seasons in MLS, winning the number one spot after a strong performance in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
From 2019 to 2022, Freese served as a backup for Andre Blake, arguably the best goalkeeper in the league at the time. His quality was evident despite a limited number of appearances, most notably the Covid game against New York City FC in the 2021 Eastern Conference final. In 2023, he signed with NYCFC and has thrived ever since.
Freese, along with Austin Trusty (Philadelphia, PA), Brendan Aaronson (Medford, NJ), and Mark McKenzie, who grew up in Bear, Delaware, represent the contingent of former Philadelphia Union players on the current World Cup roster. Freese and Christian Pulisic, who also appeared in 2022, are among the long line of Philadelphia area players representing the Stars and Stripes in a World Cup.
Most recently, Chris Albright (Philadelphia, PA), Ben Olsen (Mechanicsburg, PA), and Bobby Convey (Philadelphia, PA) were on the squad in 2006. Convey started the opener against Czech Republic, a 3-0 loss. Olsen came off the bench in the 2-1 loss to Ghana.
Danley Jean-Jacques Makes History for Philadelphia Union
With his start for Haiti against Scotland Saturday night, Danley jean-Jacques became the first active Philadelphia Union player to appear in a World Cup. Danley played 90 minutes in Haiti’s 1-0 loss in Boston.
Danley joined the Union in the summer of 2024 form FC Metz in Ligue 1 and has appeared over 60 times since arriving in Chester, mostly as a defensive midfielder. 2 of his 6 goals for the club have come this season
Olivier Mbaizo went to the 2022 World Cup with Cameroon but never appeared. Alejandro Bedoya appeared for the U.S. in 2014, before he joined the Union.
Danley and Haiti will play Brazil Friday, June 19th in Philadelphia.
Carl Gulbish on the Ground in L.A.
Doylestown’s Carl Gulbish was an on-field photographer during the U.S. win over Paraguay at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles. For Gulbish, a longtime contributor to Philadelphia Soccer Now and friend of the site, covering the World Cup as a photographer has become a dream come true. Gulbish flew out for the game and traveled back the next morning said, “Sofi or Los Angeles Stadium, as they are calling it, should be on everyone’s bucket list.”
Gulbish said the game was something he’d never experienced before. “The stadium was rocking, and the U.S. team looked amazing. Makes you dream for another Miracle on Ice.”
Gulbish will be in Philadelphia and Boston throughout the group stage and will then hope to cover the remaining games in the knockout rounds.
Here are some of Carl’s action shots below:
