The United States men’s national team booked its place in the knockout stage of the World Cup and clinched Group D as they came away with an impressive win over Australia at Seattle Stadium on Friday.
The co-host entered the game with a major injury concern as Christian Pulisic suffered a calf injury. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino decided to include Ricardo Pepi along with the 10 from last week’s 4-1 win over Paraguay.
It was promised to be a physical battle between the two sides, but the Americans stuck to their high-pressure strategy to keep the Socceroos off balance. They were rewarded with the opening goal in the 11th minute when Folarin Balogun ran onto a pass from Antonee Robinson on the left side, sprinted past his marker to enter the 18-yard box with a centering pass, only for Australian defender Cameron Burgess to put the ball into his own net.
Alex Freeman doubled the lead for the U.S. in the 43rd minute from a set piece when Sergino Dest’s shot was deflected, which led to the right-back to react first to head the ball into the back of the net. It was initially ruled offside, but the video assistant referee overruled the call.
Australia did make a few changes at the start of the second half when its winger Nestory Irankunda was brought into action. His speed on the counter was a threat, but the team could not produce goals to get in the game.
The U.S. will await a third-place team in the round of 32, but before that, they will head back to California to close out Group D against Turkiye.