The $30 million toe in the water

The United States men's national team delivered a breathtaking performance against Paraguay, showcasing flair and confidence under Mauricio Pochettino. folarin Balogun scored twice,Christian Pulisic inspired, and the team played with a freedom that captivated fans.

This win marks a potential turning point for soccer in America. The beautiful new Marilyn Monroe exhibition here, marking the centenary of her birth, provides a reminder of how other sports, not soccer,have entranced and beguiled this nation through decades.

It was baseball's Joe DiMaggio she married and, after their split, maintained a friendship with until her desperately early death. The Academy Museum shows footage of DiMaggio emerging with Monroe from their registry office wedding and driving off with her in his sports car: two superstars in their pomp.

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But what happened in the 4-1 evisceration of Paraguay on Friday night here was so transparently magical that the American nation did not need to appreciate the sport's finer points to fall in love with it .

Part of the narrative in the build-up had been about Mauricio Pochettino watching the 2004 film 'Miracle', depicting the US hockey team's legendary defeat of the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, and there really was something miraculous about what played out.

Not the defeat of a benign Paraguay, so much as the brio and self-belief with which the win was accomplished at the end of eight years of immense national expectation of the team.

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It was freestyle football at times in the emphatic first half as Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun and Christian Pulisic and Malik Tillman instinctively threaded moves together.

Giovanni Reyna's goal, bent with his outstep, could be on the best-of-tournament reel.

Though each had his story, Balogun's is the most compelling.

That of the Brooklyn-born boy who made it to Arsenal's Hale End academy and could have played for England yet selected the USA - in part because of clamour on social media.

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But Balogun is clearly a dangerous World Cup focal point for America's attacks.

The US team are ten ranking places above Australia, who they meet next in Seattle, but only five above Turkey, a well-organised side under Italian Vincenzo Montella who will present the greatest group challenge.

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Factor in the home support, too, and the fact Pochettino has clearly removed the fear,' said Ms Salvador.

'The semi-finals have never looked impossible.

Now we can say that the United States is a genuine contender in this tournament.

The team played with freedom and confidence, a clear sign that Pochettino's methods are taking hold.

The midfield trio of McKennie, Tillman, and Reyna orchestrated the game, while Balogun's predatory instincts finished it off.

There were concerns over Pulisic's injury, but the team's depth shone through.

The upcoming match against Australia will be a test of consistency, but if the USA can replicate this form, they will be a force to be reckoned with.