SEATTLE – Records are made to be broken, and that’s exactly what the US men’s national team is doing game by game as the second round of group matches continues. With a convincing 2-0 victory over Australia and Türkiye’s ouster by Paraguay, the US has won the group with a game to spare for the first time.
They have also won consecutive World Cup matches for the first time in 96 years, dating back to 1930. That’s the same year the US won a World Cup game by at least three goals, until last week’s 4-1 win over Paraguay. Add to that the first time a team has benefited from opening own goals in two consecutive matches, a World Cup record that will likely stand for decades to come.
The absence of Christian Pulisic forced Mauricio Pochettino to change the starting lineup against the Socceroos, but few expected a change in formation as well. The surprise inclusion of Ricardo Pepi led to a switch from a 3-4-2-1 to a 3-3-2-2 formation, with the former FC Dallas striker playing alongside Folarin Balogun up front. The duo kept Australia’s three-man back line of Cameron Burgess, Harry Souttar, and Alessandro Circati occupied, creating spaces in midfield and pockets behind them to exploit.
“We didn’t have him [Pulisic] today, but you saw we’re still capable to go out there and get a result,” Balogun said. “Australia played a back five, so two strikers to occupy the center backs was a good idea, and I think that’s credit to the boss.”
Balogun’s run past Circati to the byline and cross inside the box led to Cameron Burgess’ own goal, which put the hosts up 11 minutes in.
Pochettino also deserves credit for sticking to his team’s unrelenting high press, which forced countless turnovers, especially in the first half. That drive and tenacity paid dividends when Malik Tillman fought off a double-team near the byline while lying on the ground. This led to Antonee Robinson’s free kick, which Sergiño Dest slammed into the crowded box, and it popped up into the air for Alex Freeman to head home just before halftime. The Man of the Match also made a goal-saving sliding tackle when he toe-tipped the ball away from Nishan Velupillay at the right post and over the byline 20 minutes earlier.
“It was about whether we could keep our structure and be able to be solid in the back, yet also be able to create stuff in the front,” Freeman explained. “I think we did that and we should be very proud of how we were able to get our first clean sheet in a while.”
There are still some things that need cleaning up, like Freeman’s errant pass to Chris Richards that forced a Matt Freese save 40 seconds into the game, or the back line getting caught upfield on Nestory Irankunda’s breakaway, which saw Christian Volpato get Australia’s best opportunity of the second half.
But there’s time to work on those details and other options, starting with the final group game in Los Angeles against the eliminated Turks. Pulisic will likely continue to recover from the kick to the back of the leg he suffered against Paraguay, while Robinson, Balogun, Richards, and Adams could all be benched due to the yellow cards they are carrying. Sebastian Berhalter, Joe Scally, Auston Trusty, and Gio Reyna have already seen playing time and could start on Thursday. Look for Pepi to play as the solo striker in Pochettino’s usual formation.
The Group D winner’s next opponent will be a third-place team at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1st; after that, it gets tougher with a rematch against Belgium in Seattle potentially on the cards.