The U.S. men’s national team defeated Australia 2-0 to advance to the 2026 World Cup round of 32.
USMNT makes history in World Cup victory over Australia
Mauricio Pochettino has accomplished his first goal of the tournament.
Not only did they advance to the bracket for the eighth time, but they did so for the first time since 1930 with a game to spare in the group stage.
The big storyline coming into the game was Christian Pulisic’s absence with Ricardo Pepi taking his place. The star aggravated a calf injury against Paraguay to open the tournament and was substituted at halftime in the 4-1 win. While he downplayed the severity of it publicly, not even making the bench was a big blow.
Australia were riding high too after arguably the upset victory of the tournament so far when they defeated Türkiye 2-0. Though, the USMNT showed they were ready for the moment right from the jump.
Much like their first game, the bright moments early on came down the right with Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest linking up. And, also like their victory over Paraguay, their opposition turned the ball into their own net for the opening goal. A brilliant run from Folarin Balogun resulted in a dangerous ball into traffic which Cameron Burgess inadvertently tucked in for the opener.
From there, the U.S. dominated the first half maintaining 70% possession and limiting the Socceroos to just six touches in their box.
Right on the verge of halftime, a set piece routine saw Alex Freeman score his first World Cup goal after a wicked deflection and a trailing leg kept him onside. It was a brilliant first half once again from the USMNT—dominant and purposeful in possession, comfortable out of it and clearly feeding off the energy of the Lumen Field crowd.
Australia made three changes to try and chase the game in the second half, but the USMNT remained resolute despite nervy periods. McKennie continued to contribute in multiple phases in and out of possession. Players needed to step up in the wake of Pulisic’s absence and it was McKennie who really stood out.
While advancing to the knockout stage is the big takeaway, keeping a clean sheet shouldn’t go unnoticed. The sloppy defending for Paraguay’s lone goal in the opener underlined defensive concerns. While Australia isn’t a tournament favorite, the clean sheet will do wonders for confidence for the rest of the World Cup.
How far this USA squad can go remains to be seen, but qualifying for the knockout stage in two games is the perfect outcome. Especially considering these players failed to advance from the 2024 Copa America group stage two summers ago.
This team has met all expectations so far… time to see how far these players and coaches can ride the wave.
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