No Pulisic? No problem: Freeman, Adams lead the wa...
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- U.S. men's national team beat Australia 2-0 in Seattle on Friday, improving to 2-0 at the 2026 World Cup and clinching a round-of-32 berth with their final Group D match against Türkiye still to play.
- Cameron Burgess scored an own goal in the 11th minute off Folarin Balogun's run down the left, and Alex Freeman headed in off a deflected Sergiño Dest corner late in the first half to make it 2-0.
- Christian Pulisic missed the match through injury, forcing Mauricio Pochettino to adjust tactics — the U.S. held 70% first-half possession in a 4-2-3-1 before switching to a 3-5-2 after the break.
- Mauricio Pochettino earned a 7/10 manager rating as the U.S. controlled the match and goalkeeper Matt Freese posted a clean sheet, his second straight shutout of the tournament.
- Malik Tillman was singled out as having the strongest performance of any player on either side, repeatedly finding ways to break down Australia's defensive structure.
- Ricardo Pepi struggled as the left-side replacement for Pulisic, earning a 3/10 rating before being subbed off in the 74th minute for Sebastian Berhalter.
Why it matters: Clinching the round of 32 with a group match still to play gives Pochettino room to manage Pulisic's recovery and rotate his squad against Türkiye, while the result leaves Australia in must-win territory heading into their final group fixture.
