Skip Bayless turned the United States men's national team's fast World Cup start into a Dallas Cowboys joke as Paraguay collapsed under first-half pressure.
The USA had already made their opener feel bigger than a cautious home-nation debut, with the scoreline moving quickly enough to pull in even casual World Cup viewers.
For Bayless, the 3-0 lead did not just say something about the hosts. It also gave him a way to take a familiar shot at the NFL team he has spent years criticizing and defending in equal measure.
Photo by Ian Maddox for The Washington Post via Getty Images
In a post shared by Skip Bayless on X , Bayless reacted when the USA had moved 3-0 ahead of Paraguay in their World Cup opener.
"I don't closely follow World Cup buildup, but from what I just saw, either Team USA is better than I expected – a true contender – or Paraguay's defense is no better than last year's Cowboys," he wrote.
The line worked because it carried both surprise and sarcasm. Bayless admitted he had not followed the World Cup buildup closely, but the USA's first-half performance was sharp enough for him to call Mauricio Pochettino's team a possible contender.
His Cowboys comparison was the punchline. Paraguay were being opened up repeatedly, and Bayless used that defensive collapse to jab at a Dallas unit that frustrated him throughout the previous NFL season.
The comment came at the point when the USA had taken full control of the game, with Paraguay struggling to handle the hosts' pace and movement.
The breakthrough came through a Damián Bobadilla own goal after early American pressure, before Folarin Balogun scored twice in the first half to make it 3-0. Paraguay pulled one back after the break, but Gio Reyna later added the final touch to complete a 4-1 win.
Balogun's double gave the scoreline its sharpest edge, while the early own goal showed how quickly the USA had forced Paraguay into uncomfortable defensive positions.
The Cowboys joke gave the moment a familiar Bayless twist, but the larger point was about the USMNT. A 4-1 opening win at a home World Cup will raise expectations quickly, especially when the performance was convincing enough to make Bayless wonder if the hosts are more dangerous than he expected.
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