By NAN Sports Editor
News Americas, LOS ANGELES, CA, Fri. June 12, 1026: The USA Soccer team made World Cup history Friday night in LA, defeating Paraguay 4-1 at the Los Angeles Stadium in their most dominant World Cup opening match since 1930.
And the players who led the way? Immigrants and the children of immigrants.
Folarin Balogun – born in New York but raised entirely in London, the son of a Nigerian immigrant father – scored twice in 45 minutes to put the US in command. Giovanni Reyna – born in Sunderland, England, and the grandson of Argentine immigrants who settled in New Jersey in the 1960s – added the fourth goal to seal a historic victory. Christian Pulisic scored the first goal.
The same administration that has proposed stripping work permits from immigrants, filed denaturalization cases against naturalized American citizens, and pushed what it describes as the largest mass deportation operation in American history – watched its national soccer team make history on the backs of immigrant talent Friday night.
The irony has never been louder. Or more American.
The Historic Win
The 4-1 victory over Paraguay marks the United States’ most dominant World Cup opening performance since the tournament’s inaugural edition in 1930 – a milestone that sent shockwaves through the soccer world and announced America’s intent at a tournament it is co-hosting alongside Canada and Mexico.
The result places the United States at the top of Group D – ahead of Turkey, Australia, and Paraguay – and sends an unmistakable message to the rest of the World Cup field that the home nation means business.
The Immigrant Star and Immigrant Root Star Who Made History
Folarin Balogun – the night’s standout performer with two goals – was born in New York but raised entirely in London, coming through Arsenal’s academy before starring for AS Monaco in the French league. His parents are Nigerians. His story is one of diaspora, identity, and the kind of immigrant journey that has built America generation by generation.
In a tournament hosted by a country that has spent the past year restricting immigrant work permits, denaturalizing citizens, and deporting Caribbean and Latin American families – Balogun’s two goals stand as the most powerful rebuttal imaginable.
Giovanni Reyna – who added the fourth and final goal – was born in Sunderland, England, where his father Claudio Reyna was playing professional football. His grandfather Miguel Reyna immigrated to the United States from Argentina in the 1960s. Gio was eligible to represent England, Argentina, or Portugal – and chose America.
The grandson of an Argentine immigrant. Scoring for the United States. On the night America made World Cup history.
More Than Half The Team Are Immigrants Or Their Children
Thursday’s performance was not an anomaly. It was a reflection of what the US team actually is.
As MLS Soccer has reported, more than half of the 26-man US World Cup roster are immigrants themselves or the children and grandchildren of immigrants —- with 12 players born elsewhere or born to immigrant parents, and five more who could qualify for a second passport through immigrant grandparents.
Among the other immigrant stories on the roster:
Antonee Robinson – the US first-choice left back – was born in Liverpool, England. His father acquired US citizenship after immigrating during his service in the Vietnam War.
Sergino Dest – born in the Netherlands to an American father and Surinamese mother.
Yunus Musah – born in New York to Ghanaian parents but raised in Italy and England.
Cristian Roldan – born in California to a Guatemalan father and Salvadoran mother who immigrated after their home countries were gripped by violence in the 1980s.
As Front Office Sports reported, almost 25% of all 1,248 players at this year’s World Cup are representing a team different from the country of their birth — up from less than 9% at the 2006 tournament. America’s team reflects that reality as powerfully as any squad at the tournament.
The Contradiction That Cannot Be Ignored
In the weeks leading up to this World Cup the Trump administration’s immigration record has been extraordinary in its scope and ambition.
The Department of Homeland Security proposed new rules making work permits significantly harder for immigrants to obtain – potentially affecting thousands of immigrants on humanitarian protections and deferred action. The Justice Department filed denaturalization cases against 17 more naturalized American citizens as part of a push targeting 200 denaturalization cases per month. Green Card rules were changed – potentially forcing thousands of immigrants already in the United States to leave the country to apply for permanent residency.
Caribbean, African and Latin American communities – the very communities that produced or shaped many of the players on the US World Cup roster – have been among the most directly targeted by these enforcement actions.
And yet on Friday night in Los Angeles, as 70,000 fans roared and the flags waved and America celebrated its most historic World Cup opening in nearly a century – the goals that made history were scored by the son of a Nigerian immigrant and the grandson of an Argentine immigrant.
America’s World Cup team is built on immigration. America’s immigration policy is built on exclusion. The team on the field and the policy coming out of Washington have never been more at odds.
What The Caribbean Diaspora Sees
For Caribbean Americans watching this World Cup -many of whom are simultaneously navigating the most hostile US immigration environment in decades – Friday’s historic result carries a particular resonance.
The children and grandchildren of immigrants made history for America tonight. Their parents and grandparents – the people who raised them, sacrificed for them, and built the communities that shaped them – are being targeted by the same government those children now represent.
As Caribbean American Heritage Month began this June without a White House proclamation – and as Caribbean communities face work permit restrictions, denaturalization threats, and deportation orders – the diaspora watched immigrant children make history for the country their families built.
America has always been built by immigrants. Friday night in Los Angeles, they proved it again.
