Co-hosts USA edged closer to the World Cup knockout stages with a 2-0 victory over Australia in Group D.
After defeating Paraguay 4-1 in their opening match in Los Angeles, Mauricio Pochettino’s side delivered another dominant performance in Seattle, extending their strong tournament start and placing them on the verge of advancing to the round of 32.
Folarin Balogun, who scored two goals against Paraguay, opened the scoring when Australia defender Cameron Burgess inadvertently turned the striker’s cut‑back into his own net in the 11th minute.
Defender Alex Freeman doubled the lead when VAR reversed an offside decision, crediting him with a goal after he headed Serginio Dest’s deflected corner shot across the line.
Head coach Tony Popovic attempted to rally Australia with a triple substitution at halftime, but the changes failed to meaningfully challenge goalkeeper Matt Freese, leaving the United States in a strong position to progress to the knockout rounds.
The key moments from Seattle…
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11: GOAL! Burgess turned Balogun’s cut‑back into his own net for the opener
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43: GOAL RULED OUT! The linesman flagged Freeman for offside after he headed the ball
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45: GOAL GIVEN! VAR overturns the offside decision and awards the goal
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45+7: SAVE! Dest tests Patrick Beech with a low shot
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52: WASTE! Balogun spurns a one‑on‑one chance to add a third
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62: OVER! Australia’s Cristian Volpato fires a good chance over after coming off the bench
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65: SAVE! Connor Metcalfe, another Australia substitute, shoots too close to Freese
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87: AGGRO! Three late bookings as tempers fray
What the result means…
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