The United States made the sharpest opening statement of the World Cup, beating Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles as Folarin Balogun struck twice for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Christian Pulisic was substituted as a precaution, with Pochettino saying he hopes the issue is not serious. The match also produced a tournament first, with VAR used under a new rule to correct a case of mistaken identity.

There were milestones for other hosts and former hosts too. Qatar earned their first point in World Cup finals history with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in San Francisco. Breel Embolo put Switzerland ahead from the penalty spot before Boualem Khoukhi rescued a draw in the 95th minute. Canada also collected a first World Cup point, drawing 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina after Cyle Larin came off the bench to equalize. That game also sparked debate over a possible second-half red card.

Brazil’s build-up suffered an early setback when Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Neymar will miss the opening game against Morocco through injury. Vinicius Junior said Ancelotti wants Brazil to be defensively solid and ready to counter-attack.

Away from the field, England had training equipment stolen before the squad’s arrival in Kansas City ahead of its opener against Croatia. Four England players also left the squad after their involvement in warm-up matches. In club news, Fulham are closing in on Alvaro Arbeloa as head coach after talks over Marco Silva’s replacement, while Crystal Palace are near a deal for Lens manager Pierre Sage.