The United States launched their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Canada in a tense Group A opener. Giovanni Reyna fired the Americans ahead early, but Canada fought back when Jonathan David leveled the score just before halftime.

Tension soared after the break until a controversial handball by Alphonso Davies drew a VAR review, and Christian Pulisic calmly converted the resulting 78th-minute penalty to snatch all three points.

The result leaves the USA top of the group and underlines Pulisic’s growing stature as the team’s decisive match-winner on the biggest stage.