World Cup

Christian Pulisic was rested with a calf injury, but the U.S. still found a way to get three points.

By Hayden Bird

June 19, 2026 | 5:39 PM

2 minutes to read

The United States men’s national team defeated Australia 2-0 on Friday in Seattle in their second World Cup group stage game.

With the win, the U.S. has officially clinched a spot in the knockout round, and sit atop Group D with six points following the opening victory over Paraguay.

An own goal scored by Australia defender Cameron Burgess in the 11th minute, and a VAR-reviewed header from Alex Freeman in the 43rd minute was all that the U.S. needed. A relatively quiet second half was music to American ears, even with a few scares generated by a resilient Australian team.

Here are the takeaways: 

Christian Pulisic absent

The big pregame news was that U.S. star Christian Pulisic was ruled out due to a calf injury. He was left off the bench, meaning that head coach Mauricio Pochettino left no chance for a second half substitution.

It was a safe move with the rest of the tournament in mind, but a game in the short term. Pulisic was by far the most dynamic player for the U.S. against Paraguay, and questions were rightfully asked how the hosts would fill the void in creativity.

In Pulisic’s place was forward Ricardo Pepi, who (interestingly) is more of a center forward/striker than a wide attacker.

A quick start

Without their main attacking catalyst, the U.S. was inevitably hoping for an early goal.

Luckily, that was provided by an Australian mistake, as Burgess mishit a Folarin Balogun cross into his own net.

An assist from VAR

The Americans’ second goal was a strange reality created by modern soccer: Video Assistant Referee (VAR) judging that a previously ruled offside call had been wrong.

As a result, Freeman (son of former Packers Super Bowl champion Antonio Freeman) was given credit for his 43rd minute header in the goal-mouth:

Controlled dominance through the first half

Though it was far from the most highlight-filled game, one of the interesting takeaways was certainly just how dominant the U.S. was for most of the first half.

Australia could only manage 30 percent of the possession, and recorded just two shots (one on target), compared with nine shots for the U.S.

Even with its best player out, the U.S. team looked confident and capable of defeating a team they were widely expected to beat. Achieving these kinds of results (while expected) has been far from a given in this World Cup. 

Australia grew into the game, with corresponding physicality

Pochettino was probably thanking his lucky stars (and stripes) that he’d given Pulisic the day off as the second half wore on. Not only did his team have a solid 2-0 lead, but Australia were working ceaselessly to wrestle some control of the game away from the Americans. But despite great industry, their efforts resulted mostly in a series of fouls being called.

By game’s end, a combined seven yellow cards (three for the U.S., four for the Australians) had been handed out. Twenty eight total fouls were called (16 of which were on the visitors).

Ultimately, the U.S. was able to see the game out without any hiccups, surviving a few close scrapes on set pieces to maintain the clean sheet.

The final U.S. group stage game will come on Thursday, June 25 against Türkiye. If the Turks (who play Paraguay later on Friday at 10 p.m.) lose, it would officially clinch the top spot in the group for the U.S.