USA 2-0 Australia
It certainly will be tonight after the hosts delivered a second set of World Cup 2026 highlights within a week to clinch their place in the knockout stages.
Heading into this tournament, there had been a few question marks against Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
And yes, sterner tests lie ahead.
But the Stars n’ Stripes can barely have done more than in their first two games in Group D.
Last weekend in an irresistible display, two goals from Folarin Balogun, an assist from Christian Pulisic, and some crowning glory from Gio Reyna saw them run out 4-1 winners against a Paraguay side tipped to ruffle their feathers.
Now they have followed that up by seeing off Australia in a game where chances were limited but the US controlled long spells of possession and made it count.
It will be Sleepless in Seattle for fans of the hosts tonight.
Highlights of the game
Both nations were looking to build on excellent World Cup starts.
Australia had really impressed in their opening contest against Turkey, a 2-0 success in Vancouver; a victory build on a fine competitive international debut from goalkeeper Patrick Beach and superb strikes from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe.
It was a victory in which Tony Popovic’s men looked so well prepared.
Perhaps that should not come as a surprise given they arranged a preliminary Florida training camp, coupled with two high-profile friendlies, ahead of a dedicated tournament base camp in the San Francisco Bay Area.
What was a surprise was to see both scorers named on the bench with Mathew Leckie and Nishan Velupillay coming in.
The US had a pre-match blow with the news that Pulisic, who had picked Paraguay apart last weekend, was not fit enough to return after leaving the fray in that encounter with a calf knock.
The Milan man, who had trained on his own all week, was replaced in midfield by Ricardo Pepi.
As the chants of ‘USA, USA’ resonated, the home team were rewarded for their front-footed approach with an early, if somewhat fortunate opener.
Certainly, there was nothing Cameron Burgess could do as the pacy and powerful Balogun drove into the box and his cross hit the defender’s legs and was deflected into the net inside 11 minutes.
Weston McKennie could have doubled the advantage soon afterwards and, while chances were at a premium, Australia were offering next to nothing.
The next goal was likely to be crucial and it arrived two minutes before the break as the US’s high-energy approach saw Sergino Dest’s effort from the edge of the box deflect into the path of his team mate Alex Freeman who reacted quickly to head gome – awarded following a VAR review.
Irankunda and Metcalfe were among a trio of introductions at the break but, from an attacking perspective, Australia rarely looked threatening with Irankunda a rare bright spark.
It could have been different had another Aussie substitute, Cristian Volpato, not scooped the ball over the bar just past the hour mark, but the Americans were largely in control as they sat back and countered where necessary.
A job well done and, for now, the pressure which had been building on the co-hosts for a series of inconsistent displays in the spring, has been forgotten.
Pochettino’s men have navigated the early hurdles and are tipped to make the last 16, and possible even a quarter-final place.
As for the Socceroos, they could do exactly the same but will need to do much better against Paraguay to make sure.
Key statistics
The USA have scored six goals in two matches to date. They’ve only scored more in an entire tournament twice before in 1930 and 2002 when they netted seven on both occasions.
This game ended a five-match winning run by Australia who had also kept a clean sheet in three of their last four competitive matches.
What’s next?
Check out the SBOTOP World Cup 2026 betting odds ahead of the final games in Group D which kick-off at 3am (UK time) next Friday (June 26) when the US will face Turkey and Paraguay meet Australia.
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