The USMNT entered their second World Cup match with a straightforward task: beat Australia, advance to the Round of 32.
The challenge, however, was breaking down Australia’s low block. Australia entered the match in a compact 5-4-1 formation; five at the back, four in the midfield, and one up front. When the US had possession, every member of Australia sat behind the ball.
A shape change
The US entered this match without the injured Christian Pulisic, and the big question marks were if the US could really get at Australia's low block without their best player.
SixOneFive Soccer Staff
With Pulisic absent, head coach Mauricio Pochettino made a slight tweak, starting forward Ricardo Pepi alongside Folarin Balogun, and in place of the injured Pulisic. The beauty of the new two-striker shape is that it allowed for one striker to drift wide and act as a winger, with the other keeping Australia's center backs occupied.
Balogun did just that in the first 11 minutes, going on a fantastic run to the byline and squared a teasing ball into the six which can cause chaos, and in this match it did and led to an own goal for Australia.
1-0! GOOOOAL FOR USA! 🇺🇸
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2026
Flo Balogun charges in and the @USMNT finds the back of the net on the own goal pic.twitter.com/GdivDaeNt9
For an Australia side set up solely to defend, this was absolutely deflating. Now they needed to be much more attacking and press high to get a goal back.
Australia’s whole goal was to keep the US off the scoresheet and hit on the break. They failed. 11 minutes in, and they had to pivot to Plan B.
Alex Freeman's meteoric rise
The US kept their high energy throughout the first half, and it paid off again in the 43rd minute when 21-year-old Alex Freeman nodded one home, beating Australian keeper Patrick Beach to the ball after a broken set piece. Freeman is a top talent. He has one of the highest energies on the US side that night, and goes hard into every tackle.
Sometimes in attack, it feels like Freeman has been given free roam. Once again against Australia, he was everywhere. After transferring to Spanish side Villarreal earlier this year, he's showing the potential to be a top-tier wingback in Europe.
The World Cup is here, and we're running our biggest sale of the year! Sign up for a new annual membership and save 30%!
Weathering the storm
In the second half, the US were the side sitting back a bit. Australia pressed more, with desparation making them appear more up for it. However, they didn’t abandon the back five, an is interesting choice given their need for a win.
Overall, Australia really didn’t look that threatening going forward, even when they began to pick up the energy. The US once again dominated possession with 62% possession, ending the match with 1.08 xG and creating two big chances. The match would end as a 2-0 USMNT win, ensuring a berth to the knockout stage.
Ben Wright
Later in the evening, Paraguay's 1-0 win over Türkiye officially clinched the Americans' position as winners of Group D, even before playing their third and final match of the group.
The US will close out the group stage on Thursday June 25 at 10pm ET against Turkiye.The last time the men's team won two games in a row before Friday was in 1930 when they finished the tournament in 3rd place. Can the US make history and make it three wins in a row?
