Overview
The US team entered the 2026 World Cup with no small expectations, and Mauricio Pochettino's team had an incredibly impressive start with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the opening match.
After positive signals from friendly matches before the tournament, including a 3-2 victory over Senegal and a narrow 1-2 defeat to Germany, the home team continues to maintain their form when entering the biggest playground on the planet.
The US entered the game excitedly and soon took the lead in the 7th minute after Damian Bobadilla's own goal. Folarin Balogun then became the focus with a double in the 31st and 50th minutes, thereby becoming the second player in US history to score 2 or more goals in a World Cup match.
Although Paraguay had a goal to narrow the score to 1-2 in the 73rd minute thanks to Mauricio, Giovanni Reyna closed the convincing 4-1 victory with a beautiful goal in injury time.
This result helps Pochettino become more confident before the confrontation with Australia in Seattle, although the Argentine coach understands that the Asian representative is not an easy opponent to be underestimated.
In the first match, Australia created a big surprise when defeating Turkey 2-0 thanks to goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe.
Although only controlling the ball 28% and receiving 30 shots from the opponent, Tony Popovic's team still stood firm thanks to a resilient defense and the excellent performance of goalkeeper Patrick Beach, who made up to 8 saves in his official debut match.
The victory over Turkey brings great confidence to Australia, because another victory will help them get very close to the ticket to the round of 32.
However, this challenge will be much more difficult as the opponent is the home team. The US has won both of their most recent encounters, including a 2-1 victory in October 2025.
Before the match, Australia also became the focus of debate when some US football experts assessed them as "easy opponents" and predicted they would be at the bottom of the group. Those comments will certainly add motivation for Popovic's team in the highly anticipated match at Seattle.
Personnel situation
On the US side, Pochettino is likely to maintain the formation that defeated Paraguay 4-1 in the opening match. Although Christian Pulisic had a minor problem and had to leave the field in the first half, both Pochettino and Tyler Adams confirmed that this star is capable of playing against Australia.
Meanwhile, Tony Popovic is also predicted to continue to trust the framework that helped Australia surprise Turkey.
Goalkeeper Patrick Beach, who shone with a series of saves in the opening match, is likely to continue to start behind the trio of center-backs Alessandro Circati, Harry Souttar and Cameron Burgess.
Expected lineup:
Freese, Freeman, Richards, Ream, Robinson, Adams, Tillman, Dest, McKennie, Pulisic, Balogun.
Beach, Circati, Souttar, Burgess, Italiano, O'Neill, Okon-Engstler, Bos, Metcalfe, Irankunda, Toure.
The match between the US and Australia takes place at 2:00 AM on June 20 (Vietnam time).
