The United States men’s national team made history with a 2-0 win over Australia Friday.

Prior to the match, the USMNT had not won consecutive matches at a World Cup since the 1930 inaugural tournament.

That changed Friday after the 90th minute at Lumen Field in Seattle where the U.S.’s second straight victory cemented the team as a potential World Cup contender.

The Americans began the scoring early from an own goal off Folarin Balogun’s pass. It was evident the USMNT hadn’t skipped a beat without Christian Pulisic, who was unavailable for Friday’s showdown because of a calf injury.

Though USA’s best player didn’t compete against Australia, the squad’s youngest player had his breakout moment.

Alex Freeman, 21, scored the second goal of the match. It was originally ruled offside by the referees, but was eventually overturned by FIFA after the VAR review. The call was all the more special for Freeman, whose father Antonio Freeman also scored at the stadium in Seattle as a Packers wide receiver in 1996.

The statement win by the U.S. gives the team a plus-five goal differential over its opponents in Group D. Moreover, the victory signified that the USMNT would advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.

The USMNT had somewhat of a negative narrative ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The 2022 tournament saw the national team score a total of three goals during their run.

By comparison, the American squad has scored a total of six goals in its first two games thus far.

USA’s dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay in the World Cup opener quickly changed the public’s perspective on the team and Friday’s showing has only added to the excitement surrounding stateside soccer.

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