The U.S. men’s national team returned to the area for the first time since 2018 and did not disappoint most of the 17,224 who came to see them in Chester on a frigid Saturday evening, winning 2-1 over Paraguay in a “friendly” game that was far from amicable on the field.
Two of the four players on the U.S. roster with Philly ties were in the starting lineup: goalkeeper Matt Freese and forward Brenden Aaronson. Auston Trusty and Mark McKenzie did not play.
“It was special to be here,” Medford, N.J. native Brenden Aaronson said after the game. “I mean, I just saw my family, so it was an amazing moment for me … I’m really grateful that I got to play tonight. Hopefully showed what I can do.”
The U.S. opened the scoring within the first five minutes with a headed goal by Gio Reyna, headed in off a pinpoint cross from Max Arfsten.
Paraguay struck back shortly after the first 10. Miguel Almirón ran onto a pass down the sideline and first-timed his cross into the box for Alex Arce to head past Delco-native Freese.
The U.S. went back ahead in the 71st minute, when a cut-back cross from Reyna — a player who drew a lot of attention in the run-up to the game — bounced favorably into Balogun’s reach, off the legs of Paraguay’s Damián Bobadilla.
The U.S. prevailed despite Ricardo Pepi missing a scoring opportunity in the 79th minute. Paraguay nearly pulled back when a late deflection off Arfsten almost went in for an own-goal.
It was a physical, tetchy game which culminated in a stoppage time scuffle after American defender Alex Freeman and Paraguay’s captain Diego Gómez wrestled for a ball that had gone out of play. Players on the field for both teams, and benches, joined in.
Paraguay’s Omar Alderete picked up a red card, which is quite a rare achievement for an unused substitute. U.S. midfielder Cristian Roldan, who had been substituted off early, was shown a yellow card.
“I was very happy with the way that we supported each other,” recalled Freese, who had to run half the length of the field to join the fracas. “There were a few cheap shots thrown from their end, to be honest. But it’s part of being a team, standing up for each other, no matter the moment … I don’t think I’ve ever moved that quickly, getting in there.”
The USMNT next faces two-time FIFA World Cup winners Uruguay — a team famous for its own underhanded tactics — in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday. Freese said the opponent’s intensity isn’t the most important factor in these tune-up games for next summer.
“We want to be the ones bringing that intensity, regardless of who we’re playing,” he said. “I think we saw that tonight, but it’s important that we continue to do that, game after game, after game.”
“Emotional” reunions in Chester
The USMNT last played at the home of the Philadelphia Union seven years ago, in a 3-0 win against Bolivia in May 2018. Nick Custodio, vice president of the Philly chapter of the U.S. supporters’ group, the American Outlaws, said the group had been preparing for the national team’s return since this match was announced back in September.
The Philly area has had a recent glut of international soccer, with the women’s national team taking on Portugal — which saw a marginally higher attendance than last night’s game — last month and FIFA Club World Cup games over the summer. Custodio said he hopes the fans’ showing up for all of those games helps to convince U.S. Soccer, the nation’s governing body for the sport, to bring more national team games to Philly.
Paraguay had played the U.S. team in Chester once before, in a 1-0 victory for the Americans on June 11, 2016. For yesterday’s game, Paraguay fans showed up with a notable presence before and during the game.
Rose Friend, raised in King of Prussia, and Kate Corsaro, raised in New York, were both international adoptees from Paraguay and met through a 2025 trip back to their country of birth through the Ties Program.
Admittedly, neither were huge soccer fans. But they came to see Paraguay play, to celebrate their heritage, and connect with their roots.
“It’s honestly kind of an emotional experience, seeing so many Paraguayans because, growing up, there were so few of us,” Corsaro said.
Paraguay has already qualified for the World Cup. Besides the U.S. and the other two host nations, Canada and Mexico, it’s undecided which teams will play at which of the 16 host cities. That will be decided with a Dec. 5 draw in Washington D.C. Corsaro and Friend said they’ll be keeping an eye out for game tickets if Paraguay ends up back in Philly.
“It would be really something to see, to see our home country play and compete,” Friend said.
The U.S. will play all of its World Cup group stage games on the West Coast, and it’s unclear whether the team could conceivably play in Philly’s round-of-16 game on the Fourth of July until after the draw. What’s clear for Custodio and the other USMNT diehards is that they’ll be preparing to cheer on the team any way they can.
“We’ve been thinking about the next World Cup since the last World Cup,” he said. “We’re ready. We’re excited. We’re gonna pack our bar, Top Tomato downtown, with fans and supporters. We’re going to come out to the fan fest, and we’re really excited.”
Who would Custodio like to see playing in Philly next year? Maybe Germany, which have yet to qualify, or Portugal and England, which have.
England would have special significance compared to the other two, though.
“Especially with the 250th anniversary coming up, it would be nice to root against England here,” Custodio said.
