USA beat Australia to secure spot in World Cup knockout
What's the story
The United States men's national soccer team has secured its place in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup, following a convincing 2-0 victory over Australia in Group D. The match, played in Seattle, saw Cameron Burgess score an own goal and Alex Freeman head in a second goal for the co-hosts. With this win, USA became the second team to reach the round of 32 after Mexico.
Tournament performance
Stellar start for the USA under Pochettino
Under the guidance of head coach Mauricio Pochettino, the USA team has had a stellar start to their World Cup campaign. They kicked off their tournament with a 4-1 win over Paraguay in Los Angeles. The team now sits at the top of Group D with six points, and is on track to finish first. According to FIFA, they are guaranteed to qualify for the round of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams at minimum.
Match highlights
A look at match summary
The USA's first goal came in the 11th minute when Australia's Cameron Burgess inadvertently turned a cut-back from Folarin Balogun into his own net. Freeman then doubled the lead when VAR overturned an offside call against him after he had headed Sergino Dest's deflected shot over the line following a USA corner. Despite making three substitutions at half-time, Australia's attempts to get back into the game were unsuccessful.
Upcoming matches
Turkey next for the USA
The USA will wrap up their group stage campaign against Turkey in Los Angeles on June 26. Meanwhile, Australia will face Paraguay in their last match of the group stage. Despite missing star player Christian Pulisic due to a calf injury, the USA team proved they are not reliant on one player for success.
Information
Unique records for USA
The USA have won back-to-back games at the World Cup for the first time since 1930. The USA have now scored six goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Only in 2022 and 1930 have they managed to score more goals at the tournament (7).