The US Men’s National Team (USMNT) booked its place in the knockout stages of the World Cup after a dominant 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle Friday afternoon.
Mauricio Pochettino’s US, playing without the injured Christian Pulisic, followed up its statement opening win over Paraguay with another eye-catching display against the Australians, sealing a deserved victory through a Cameron Burgess own goal and a close-range header from Alex Freeman in a hugely impressive opening half.
Pochettino’s side has now sealed its place in the round-of-32 after picking up six points from six in its opening two games of Group D and will clinch top spot on Friday night if Turkiye fails to beat Paraguay.
Pochettino and the US could scarcely have imagined a better start to their World Cup campaign, with the USMNT scoring six goals in two high-energy performances. That tally is just one short of an American record of seven goals in a single World Cup campaign, recorded in both 1930 and 2002.
Just like it did against Paraguay, the US produced a top-drawer performance chock full of neat passing exchanges and relentless pressing that often pinned Australia in its own half, although a sloppy second half that allowed Australia to establish more control will be some cause for concern.
The US started slightly nervously, with Freeman mislaying a pass for Chris Richards within the opening seconds, allowing Mohamed Toure to break into the American penalty area. His shot – from a narrow angle – was straight at Matt Freese and marked a comfortable save for the NYCFC ‘keeper. It also marked the first save that Freese has made in the tournament after a dominant opening performance against Paraguay.
From there, though, it was all about the hosts as Pochettino’s side took center stage in a dominant first half performance that was every bit as impressive as the opening win over Paraguay.
Sergino Dest went close on nine minutes when he exchanged a neat one-two with Weston McKennie on the edge of the area to slice through the Australian defense. His close-range effort was well blocked by Burgess, however.
But the Australian defender went from hero to zero within two minutes when he put through his own net after Folarin Balogun broke away down the left-hand side and squared across the six-yard box. Burgess, with Ricardo Pepi loitering behind him, got his clearance all wrong and sliced into his own net.
There was to be no let-up after that early opener, with Pochettino’s side often penning Australia inside its own half with a relentless high press.
Australia rode its luck to beat Turkiye in its opening match, facing 28 shots in a one-sided game and hitting Turkiye on the counter-attack twice in a classic snatch and grab performance.
The early US goal scuppered any plans of a repeat on Friday, with Australia often looking short of ideas in attack.
It remained one-way traffic throughout the first half, albeit with the US struggling to create clear-cut chances.
That changed on the stroke of half-time when an Antonee Robinson freekick found Dest in space on the edge of the area. Dest’s shot was blocked by Harry Souttar, but with Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach already committed to save the shot, Freeman was on hand to head in from close range.
The goal was originally ruled out for offside, but a VAR review showed that Freeman was level with Jacob Italiano and the goal was given, leading to an eruption of noise that has not often been heard at a USMNT game.
Its attempts to sit in and frustrate the US foiled, Australia had to force the issue in the second half, which left acres of space behind its defense and presenting opportunities for the US to kill the game off on the counter.
Balogun should have done so on 51 minutes when he beat the offside trap to race into the Australian half unattended. Balogun, however, could not bring the ball properly under control, allowing Alessandro Circati to get back and block his goalbound effort.
Australia, who made three changes, did gradually fight its way into the contest, inspired by substitute Nestory Irankunda, who provided pace to stretch the US defense.
The 20-year-old Watford striker provided a warning on 62 minutes when he broke into the US penalty area and fed fellow substitute Cristian Volpato in space 12 yards out. Volpato could not keep his effort down, however.
But sloppiness had long crept into the US performance, with Australia frequently regaining possession in American territory and finding more and more space near the US goal, although the Australians continued to find chances hard to come by and the American goal survived.
Souttar did spurn one golden opportunity to create an uncomfortable ending when he failed to connect with a Jordan Bos cutback from close range, with Tyler Adams producing a big block to deny Jason Geria on the follow-up.
That was about as good as it got for Australia as the US held out for a deserved victory.
