Pulisic sits, but U.S. finds a way vs. Australia to reach World Cup KO rounds - ESPN

SEATTLE — The U.S. men's national team made it two for two at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, defeating Australia 2-0 on Friday to advance to the knockout rounds and give it a stranglehold on the top spot in Group D. An own goal from Australia defender Cameron Burgess, after a scintillating run from Folarin Balogun, put the U.S. up in the 11th minute. Alex Freeman then doubled the advantage in the 43rd minute when he was first to a deflected shot and nodded the ball home.

The win was notable for the fact that the USMNT prevailed without attacker Christian Pulisic, who sat out the match with a calf injury.

The USMNT once again equaled some team marks. This is the first time the U.S. has won consecutive matches at a World Cup since 1930. That was also the last time the Americans scored two or more goals in the first half of consecutive World Cup matches.

The U.S. could even clinch the top spot in the group later in the day if Paraguay can manage to take points off of Türkiye.

As for the Socceroos, they are by no means out of the running for the knockout rounds. A win in their final match against Paraguay would give them six points, which should be more than enough to advance. — Jeff Carlisle

The news that Pulisic would sit out the match arrived 90 minutes before kickoff. Given that Ricardo Pepi was selected as Pulisic's replacement, a tactical tweak was expected as well. As it turned out, the U.S. operated in a similar manner. The U.S. still played with four in the back when defending, and three defenders when in attack, but the switch allowed the U.S. to use both Pepi and Balogun to press the Australia center backs and link up with wide players when in the possession.

«What I saw [was] a team that really believe in what it is