There's a difference between a good start and a statement.

Friday night at SoFi Stadium felt like both.

Seven minutes in, a long ball from Alex Freeman found Weston McKennie, who slid it to Christian Pulisic, who fed it back across to Folarin Balogun. Paraguay defender Damian Bobadilla got there first and turned it into his own net. It was the third-fastest lead the U.S. has ever taken in a World Cup. WikipediaWikipedia

The building hadn't settled yet when Balogun struck again. His first goal came off a slick finish from a Pulisic pass. Then, right before the half, he found another gear entirely. KTVB

His second goal was a rocket into the top corner that rippled the net and sent the American bench pouring onto the field. KTVB

3-0. First half. Home crowd. World Cup.

It marked the first time the U.S. had scored three times in the opening half of a World Cup match since the 2002 opener against Portugal, the tournament that produced the best American World Cup run ever. Wikipedia

That comparison alone should tell you how big Friday night was.

Balogun became the first American to score multiple goals in a World Cup match since Bert Patenaude did it in 1930, in the very first World Cup ever played. Ninety six years. One country. Two strikers separated by almost a century, both doing it against the same opponent. Sports Illustrated

Paraguay clawed one back in the second half, but Gio Reyna closed it out with a golazo off the outside of his right foot deep into stoppage time, making it 4-1. The U.S. had never scored four goals in a World Cup match before Friday. Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated

The scariest part for the rest of this group is how it happened.

Pulisic was electric for the half he played. He helped create both of the first two goals and delivered the assist on Balogun's opener, and every time he touched the ball something dangerous looked like it was coming. Pochettino pulled him at the break as a precaution after he took a kick to the calf. Pulisic said afterward he didn't think it was anything serious, and Pochettino confirmed the move was just about not taking risks. WikipediaSports Illustrated

So the U.S. dropped its best player to half speed and still scored four.

Pochettino credited the crowd afterward, saying that's what the team had been waiting for, and that the passion in the building made it clear soccer in America is about to become massive. Seventy thousand people who weren't there to be polite. KTVB

Balogun, for his part, sounded like a guy who already knew what this meant. He called it a statement, three goals worth in one half, and said he was delighted with how the team performed, especially in that opening 45 minutes. KTVB

Then someone asked how he planned to celebrate the biggest night of his career.

"To be honest, I think I probably just watch some Netflix," he said. Sports Illustrated

That's the same guy who just tied a record that survived for nearly a century.

What happens next for this group matters more than any single group stage win usually does. This is a home World Cup. The pressure was never going to be about just getting out of the group. It's about whether a golden generation of American talent can finally turn raw ability into something that lasts deep into a tournament on home soil.

One game in, they look like they belong in that conversation.

Saturday brings a full World Cup slate, and the group stage is only getting started. But for one night in Inglewood, a 32 year wait for a World Cup match on American soil turned into the loudest answer the USMNT could have given.

If Friday was the nerves coming out, nobody wants to see what this team looks like once they're fully relaxed.