FIFA World Cup

USA USA USA - AUS Australia Australia

USA USA

Australia Australia

A. Freeman
43'
C. Burgess
11'

Seattle Stadium(66,925 Spectators)

Felix Zwayer

Full-time: USA 2-0 Australia

The damage was done in the opening 45 minutes as the US raced into a comfortable 2-0 lead. Australia offered a little more after the break, but they never really looked like scoring. The US move to six points, and that means they are through to the next round.

End of second half

Full-time

90'

+ 6

Reyna is on

The Gladbach man replaces ex-Schalke player McKennie. Wright is also on for Balogun.

90'

+ 6

Substitution

Giovanni Reyna

Weston McKennie

90'

+ 6

Substitution

Haji Wright

Folarin Balogun

The referee has cramp

Shortly after Richards picks up a yellow for a foul on Irankunda, the referee, Zwayer, is down with a cramp. The game is stopped.

90'

+ 3

Yellow card

Chris Richards

90'

+ 1

Added time

There will be six minutes of additional time.

89'

A flurry of yellows

Balogun and Souttar get locked in a duel before a host of other players also get involved. The referee brandishes his yellow card three times in quick succession.

89'

Yellow card

Jacob Italiano

89'

Yellow card

Folarin Balogun

89'

Yellow card

Harry Souttar

87'

Fired over

Circati hits a bouncing ball on the edge of the box, but his effort has far too much height on it.

85'

A good chance

Souttar has a chance to pull a goal back after a knockdown in the box, but he swings at the air instead. Geria then has a shot blocked, but the referee had already given a foul.

84'

Irankunda wants a penalty

Richards catches Irankunda whilst winning the ball in the box, and nothing is given.

Tillman running the show

The Leverkusen midfielder has put in another superb display for his country.

80'

Substitution

Auston Trusty

Antonee Robinson

80'

Scally subbed on

The Gladbach fullback is on for Dest.

80'

Substitution

Joe Scally

Sergiño Dest

78'

Irvine is on

The St. Pauli captain is on for Okon-Engstler.

78'

Substitution

Jackson Irvine

Paul Okon-Engstler

74'

Substitution

Sebastian Berhalter

Ricardo Pepi

72'

Back underway

The ball is moving once more.

69'

Hydration break

There's another stoppage in proceedings as the players take on fluids.

65'

Metcalfe denied

Loose passing from the US leads to Australia winning the ball high up, and Metcalfe tries his luck from the edge of the box, but his shot is straight at the goalkeeper.

62'

Chance wasted

Irankunda spins in behind Ream, gets to the byline and does well to set it back for the substitute Volpato, but he hooks his shot over the bar from a great position.

61'

Substitution

Cristian Volpato

Mathew Leckie

56'

A. Robinson in the book

The Fulham defender catches his man late and is shown a booking.

56'

Yellow card

Antonee Robinson

52'

Balogun hesitates

Balogun is fed through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he takes far too long to shoot, and Circati does well to get back and make the block.

51'

A healthy gap in xG

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

The USA's first-half dominance is clear to see in the xG stats.

xGoals

1.38

0.16

Goals

46'

Back underway

The ball is moving once more, and it's a triple change for Australia as St. Pauli's Metcalfe is on for Velupillay, Irankunda replaces Touré, and Geria is on for Burgess.

Kick-off!

45'

+ 8

Substitution

Nestory Irankunda

Mohamed Touré

45'

+ 8

Substitution

Connor Metcalfe

Nishan Velupillay

45'

+ 8

Substitution

Jason Geria

Cameron Burgess

0:29

Watch: Tillman praised by US fan

Half-time: USA 2-0 Australia

The US have been excellent in the first 45 minutes and deservedly lead 2-0. At the other end, Australia have offered next to nothing. The hosts have played some really fluid football, with Dest and McKennie in particular causing problems down the right.

Half-time

45'

+ 7

Dest denied

Freeman gets forward and finds Dest on the edge of the box. He shoots with his left, but it's an easy save for the goalkeeper.

45'

+ 1

Added time

There will be seven extra minutes before the break.

It counts!

A. Robinson finds Dest in far too much space on the edge of the box, and he has a go. His shot deflects into the air, and Freeman reacts quickest to head home. The US lead 2-0.

44'

The ball is in the net

But will it count? The flag is initially up against Freeman.

43'

Alex Freeman

GOAL!

2:0

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

60 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

3.08 m

43'

Great feet

Dest and Tillman combine down the right, producing some gorgeous footwork in the process.

38'

A nasty clash of heads

There is a stoppage in play after a rather full-tempo clash of heads between Freeman and Okon-Engstler.

36'

Silky skills

Both Dest and Balogun show off some neat footwork in quick succession that gets the crowd pumped up.

32'

Another Australian in the book

Circati catches Tillman on the calf after some good US build-up play and goes into the book as well.

32'

Yellow card

Alessandro Circati

28'

Back underway

The players are rehydrated, and the ball is moving once again as A. Robinson gets down the wing before sending his cross out of play for a goal kick.

25'

Hydration break

The players leave the pitch to rehydrate. Australia had been on top in the last few minutes, winning a couple of corners.

22'

Almost

Balogun almost gets in behind, but he can't bring the long ball over the top under his spell.

21'

The US are on top

Tillman and co have been full of energy early on, and Australia look all over the place defensively.

Goal attempts

4off target

0on target

1off target

1on target

17'

Good improvisation

Tillman's delivery into the box is a poor one, but McKennie manages to work a shot with an impressive improvised flick that loops over the bar.

16'

First booking

There have been a couple of firm challenges early on, and now Bos becomes the first player in the book after catching McKennie in the face.

16'

Yellow card

Jordan Bos

13'

Almost an immediate response

Australia combine neatly down the right, and the ball is set up for Leckie, who narrowly bends his shot wide with the outside of his boot.

The US lead

Balogun does brilliantly to spin in behind on the left and to get to the byline. He puts in a low cross into a good area, and Burgess gets things all wrong and fires into his own net.

11'

Cameron Burgess

OWN GOAL!

1:0

Important block

McKennie and Dest combine nearly on the right to get the latter into the box. His left-footed strike is a good one, but Burgess puts his body on the line to stop his goalkeeper from having to make a save.

Forceful

Leckie loses the ball and catches Adams on the ankle while trying to win it back. It has been a lively start.

First US threat

McKennie sends in a neat cross that narrowly avoids two US attackers in the centre.

Early possession

The host nation have had most of the ball so far, but it is Australia that have had the only shot.

First shot of the game

Touré pounces on a loose pass in a dangerous area and has a shot from an angle, but Freese makes the save.

We're underway

The ball is moving in Seattle.

Kick-off!

National anthems

The players are on the pitch and singing their respective national anthems. Not long now until we get underway.

Who will take top spot?

A win for either side will see them move to the top of the group and guarantee that team passage to the round of 32.

A Bundesliga referee makes his World Cup debut

Felix Zwayer will be officiating tonight's game, and it will be his first at a World Cup. He managed four games at the 2024 European Championship, and he has also officiated 263 Bundesliga matches.

Pochettino on Pulisic missing out

"Christian is not available. Today he was training in the morning and the feelings are good. We hope that he can be ready as soon as possible to be selected again and be part of the team."

0:10

Cherundolo backs USA

Former Hannover and USMNT right-back Steve Cherundolo visited the DFB’s German House of Soccer in Manhattan, New York on Friday, and gave his predictions for the tournament.

USA team news

The big news for the USA is that Pulisic is not fit to make the squad and is instead replaced by former Augsburg forward Ricardo Pepi up front. That means that Tillman is the only Bundesliga representative starting tonight, with both Reyna and Scally beginning the game on the bench.

Australia team news

Popovic opts for two changes from the side that beat Türkiye in Australia's opener, and one of those sees St. Pauli's Metcalfe drop to the bench to be replaced by Nishan Velupillay. In fact, both of Australia's goalscorers have been left out, as Irankunda is replaced by former Bundesliga player Matthew Leckie. Metcalfe's Pauli teammate Irvine (pictured, 2nd l.) is also on the bench.

Starting line-up: USA

Formation:3-3-2-2

USA subs

Brady, Turner, McKenzie, M. Robinson, Scally, Trusty, Weah, Arfsten, Berhalter, Reyna, Roldan, Zendejas, Aaronson, Wright

Starting line-up: Australia

Formation:3-4-2-1

Australia subs

Izzo, Ryan, Behiç, Degenek, Geria, Herrington, Trewin, Devlin, Hrustic, Irvine, Metcalfe, Irankunda, Mabil, Volpato, Yengi

The Empire State Building to be lit up in red, white and blue

That's according to ABC News, at least, who have said that the New York landmark will be lit up in national colours to support the USMNT.

Scally on the US fans

"It was like a 12th player on the field, because it really feels like we have the whole stadium kind of with us, which is very special. Even during the national anthem, you could hear the whole stadium singing."

Scally on the USA's game against Paraguay

"I think we had one of the best games out of all the teams who performed so far, so we definitely have a lot of confidence."

Reyna on facing Australia

"It's about competing, showing up for the game, and then, hopefully, our talent and our work can get us a good result."

Popovic on the meeting in October

"We wanted to experience playing in the US. We experienced playing at altitude, with travel. We tested ourselves with travel. So, for us - I can only speak for us - we got what we wanted out of that game. We had a fantastic hit out against a very good opponent, so we were pleased with that. Since then, we feel we've improved. We're a better team now than what we were in October, and I'm sure the US is as well. It should be a really good game."

Tony Popovic on facing the US

"We worked on a few different areas and ways that we believe we can try and manage the US team when they are attacking," said the Socceroos' head coach. "It'll be a difficult challenge, but one that we've prepared well for, and we come in with confidence. We have our own belief as well that we can also cause them some problems."

Australian speedsters

Australia's Jordan Bos was clocked at the fastest speed in the opening round of fixtures, hitting 36.7 km/h, just ahead of ex-Dortmund man Erling Haaland. In fact, Australia have two of the top four, with Mohamed Toure clocking an impressive 35.8 km/h.

Pochettino on Australia and that last meeting

“They are a very strong team and really believing in what they are doing. When we played them in Denver, [it] was really one of the most difficult games that we played in the run-up to today. Australia is going to be a really tough opponent."

Previous meetings

The US hosted Australia in a friendly as recently as 14 October 2025. On that day, Australia took an early lead, but a double from former Schalke forward Haji Wright flipped the game on its head, and the US won 2-1. In their three meetings prior to October, there was one win apiece, and one draw. The two sides have never locked horns at an international tournament.

Australia don't need much of the ball to hurt teams

Australia's 28.3% possession in their 2-0 win against Türkiye was the lowest of any team until Canada's 6-0 win against Qatar yesterday. Qatar played a significant portion of the game with nine men.

Mauricio Pochettino on Pulisic's fitness

“Christian is strong, with a great mentality, and he’s making a fantastic effort to be ready as soon as possible.” The former Dortmund man came off at half-time during the USA's win against Paraguay after picking up a calf injury.

Last time out: USA

The co-hosts got off to a flying start in their first game, beating Paraguay 4-1. Gladbach's Gio Reyna scored the final goal of their emphatic victory.

Last time out: Australia

The Socceroos beat Türkiye 2-0 in their opener with goals from Nestory Irankunda and Pauli's Connor Metcalfe sealing the win.

Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 involvement

Bundesliga talents Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Gio Reyna (pictured) and Joe Scally (both Gladbach) are all in the USA squad, while Australia have St. Pauli's Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe in their ranks.

Welcome!

Follow all of the action as USA take on Australia in Group D of the FIFA World Cup 2026, with the game kicking off at 9.00pm CEST in Seattle.