The U.S. men’s national team pieced together back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup with a 2–1 win over Paraguay on Saturday night, but it wasn’t without a fight.
After Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun scored the two goals to grab the win at Subaru Park, a fight broke out in the final moments. USMNT defender Alex Freeman and Paraguay’s Gustavo Gómez wrestled over the ball in the 91st minute, eventually sparking a brawl between both sides.
While the primary reason for the fight remained unclear, it appeared the match official signaled for an American throw, before Freeman and Gómez disagreed, sparking their wrestling match over the ball. Soon after, several other players from both teams came into the fray.
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson were the first players on the pitch to run over, before players from both sides and the benches pushed into the altercation.
Paraguay defender Omar Alderete picked up a red card in the scuffle, despite not getting into the match as a starter or substitute.
The USMNT and Paraguay match broke out into a fight near the end of extra time 😮pic.twitter.com/e9PKnkQmk5
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) November 16, 2025
Despite the fight to end the match, it was otherwise a very positive night for the USMNT. Not only did they pick up their second straight win, but Reyna scored his first international goal in over 600 days and plenty others raised their stocks ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The U.S. will now look to their final match of the 2025 schedule when they face Uruguay on Nov. 18, looking for three straight wins against top 30 nations for the first time under head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
After the match against Uruguay, only two matches in March and the potential of two in June remain before the Americans kick off the World Cup on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
The USMNT and other qualified nations will find out their World Cup group stage opponents and potential pathways to glory at the World Cup draw on Dec. 5.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Punches Thrown in Benches-Clearing Brawl During USMNT’s Win Over Paraguay.
