Last November, a tense, physical game in Philadelphia erupted into a scene of chaos, violence and fury.
It was the last time the United States and Paraguay clashed and it could only be described as a fiery fracas.
As the USMNT’s Alex Freeman wrestled with Paraguayan defender Gustavo Gomez over a throw-in in stoppage time, his American teammates urged forward to defend their own. From there, chaos was unleashed.
Miles Robinson was briefly in a headlock. Sebastian Berhalter was first to join the fray with Cristian Roldan, Tim Ream and even goalkeeper Matt Freese hot on his heels. US head coach Mauricio Pochettino even found himself on the floor when he tumbled in his haste to reach the scrum.
Miraculously, Omar Alderete was the only one to receive a red card for his part in the fracas.
And that was just a friendly. If it can truly be considered anything remotely close to amicable.
The last time the US and Paraguay faced off the game resulted in a bench-clearing fracas
Player piled into a mass brawl after a tussle between Alex Freeman and Gustavo Gomez
When the US and Paraguay face off on Friday night, it will be on the greatest stage soccer has to offer: The World Cup. And Group D’s opener will be anything but friendly.
The USA left November’s game with a 2-1 win and a fire in their bellies. Seven months on, it still serves as the benchmark for the team’s chemistry and fiery mentality.
It was rallying cry for the red, white and blue; a tangible moment of bonding; a warning shot to the rest of the world – the USA will not be pushed around.
‘It shows that guys are in it, willing to protect each other, wanting to get involved,’ captain Ream said following November’s match. ‘Make sure we’re not going to be pushed around. It’s a point of pride for both teams.’
It is something teammate Tim Weah echoed ahead of Friday’s rematch against Paraguay: With Pochettino at the helm, expect the US to be aggressive.
‘I think [Pochettino] brings that South American spirit we’ve been missing,’ the midfielder told reporters Wednesday. ‘We’ve always been the good guys. It’s kinda nice being on the other end and being the aggressor a bit. It’s fun.’
For long, the USA has been found lacking in its skill in soccer’s ‘dark arts’ – exaggerating contact, embellishing fouls, venting to the referee and time-wasting.
But Christian Pulisic, the biggest star of the ‘Golden Generation,’ insisted this US team knows it now has to be ‘ready to battle.’
Christian Pulisic insisted that his US team knows they have to be ‘ready to battle’
Gio Reyna celebrates after scoring in the first half of November’s friendly against Paraguay
‘It’s not about just playing beautiful football,’ said Pulisic on the eve of the USA’s first game.
It was a sentiment shared by Cristian Roldan this week as he also insisted the Stars and Stripes had to shed their goody guys image to succeed at the their first World Cup on home soil since 1994.
‘I think that’s one thing that we can get better at for sure,’ midfielder Cristian Roldan told reporters on Tuesday.
‘I think being a little bit more savvy, being too honest at times is probably too much of a fault for us.
‘We need to be a little bit savvier in the way we manage games, the way we take fouls, stay on the ground a little longer. I think these are things that we can learn from different nations, but Paraguay does a really good job of that.’
And Paraguay will be looking to prove Roldan correct on Friday. November’s friendly also served as a warning and a wakeup call for the proud footballing nation.
Following the 2-1 friendly loss for the Paraguayans, head coach Gustavo Alfaro acknowledged the US’s intensity and physicality.
‘When we put on the Paraguay jersey and we play for points, I assure you things will be different,’ he vowed.
Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro claimed that his players were ‘prepared to fight’
Arriving at the World Cup, Paraguay is a formidable opponent in international soccer for the first time a long while.
The Albirroja is returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2010 when the team reached the semifinals in South Africa only to be knocked out in a gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat to eventual champions Spain.
And after an agonizing exile, Alfaro invoked the country’s traditional soccer slogan, ‘Vencer o Morir’ (Win or Die), after the team’s official send-off.
‘I know what this country feels. I know what 16 long years of waiting, of frustrations, of heartbreaks, of curses, of watching a World Cup on television feel like,’ he said before the journey to the US.
‘I am not going to ask any Paraguayan to be rational. No, quite the contrary. We are prepared to fight. We are prepared to offer our hearts. We are prepared to leave our skin on the pitch. We are prepared to honor the memory of our past.’
Ahead of kickoff, Los Angeles Stadium will play host to one of the three World Cup opening ceremonies.
Featuring headline performances from Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema, and Tyla the show will deliver fire and song – but the real fireworks are guaranteed to come on the field.
With pledges of aggression from both side and tension still simmering from November’s bench-clearing bustup, Friday’s clash not only serves as a World Cup group game, but also a shot at revenge.
