Marucio Pochettino and the United States Men’s National Team returned to 2026 World Cup action on Friday as they squared off in a pivotal Group C matchup inside Seattle Stadium as the U.S. sought three points to secure a spot in the knockout stage. With a 2-0 win the USA is worry free heading into the final group stage match.
The United States’ World Cup run got off to a phenomenal start on June 12 when a brace from Folarin Balogun, plus another strike from Gio Reyna and an own goal, led the U.S. to a dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay.
Big news came to light in the lead-up to Friday’s game. After exiting at halftime in the Group Stage opener against Paraguay as a precaution for a calf injury, and after days of speculation about his status, captain Christian Pulisic was unable to suit up for the match against Australia.
With Pulisic unable to go, Poch made one change from the win over Paraguay. Matt Freese got the start in goal behind the backline of Tim Ream, Chris Richards, and Alex Freeman. Antonee Robinson and Sergiño played out wide while Malik Tillman, Weston McKennie, and Tyler Adams played centrally. Ricardo Pepi and Florian Balogun were the lone attackers up top with Pepi occasionally playing out wide.
Freese was forced into action in the opening minute as a poor backpass from Freeman led to Mohamed Touré getting on the ball and driving toward the net before attempting a shot to the bottom-right corner that Freese pounced on.
Like their opener, the United States found its way onto the scoreboard early thanks to their opposition. It all began with Balogun getting on a long ball on the left flank before turning goalward and advancing forward. With the Australian defense closing in, Balogun attempted to curl a pass centrally, but directed it right into the path of Cameron Burges and off his shin as the ball ricocheted into the net to give the United States an early 1-0 lead.
Just as it looked as if the Aussies would only be down a goal at half, it all changed in the 43rd minute when a free kick just outside the right side of the box led to Robinson sending the ball to Dest atop the box. The PSV player attempted to rocket a shot goalward, but an Australian defender got in the way to deflect it into the air. Thankfully for the U.S., Alex Freeman was alert as he pounced onto the loose ball midair and headed it home.
While fans inside Seattle Stadium erupted in cheers, they quickly halted, as the assistant referee raised their flag and the goal was erased. Australia attempted to restart the game, but Felix Zwayer paused play as the previous play was sent to video review. After a quick check, cheers erupted again as Freeman was deemed to be onside as the goal was put back on the board as the U.S. took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
Pochettino’s first change of the day came in the 74th minute as Sebastian Berhalter replaced Ricardo Pepi. Two more changes came in the 80th minute as Auston Trusty and Joe Scally replaced Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest.
Tempers flared in the 88th minute after a collision between Balogun and Harry Souttar led to a shoving match between the U.S. and Australia. Balogun, Souttar, and Jacob Italiano received yellow cards following their involvement in the confrontation. Richards entered the book with a yellow card in the third minute of stoppage time after colliding with Nestory Irankunda.
The final two changes for the United States came in the sixth minute of stoppage time as Gio Reyna and Haji Wright replaced McKennie and Balogun.
The United States wraps up the group stage on Thursday, June 25 when they return to Los Angeles Stadium to face Türkiye at 10 PM ET.
