Seattle, Wash. – For the first time since 930, the United States Men’s National Team has won their first two game at the World Cup. On Friday afternoon, they rattled and stormed the Australia defense to go top of Group D. And all without Christian Pulisic.
The lineups were disappointing for Colorado Rapids fans. Pulisic was out with the calf injury that’s had him in “modified training” all week. He was replaced by Ricardo Pepi. That was the only change for the Americans. Colorado Rapids center back Lucas Herrington was again on the bench for the Socceroos. The goalscorers against Türkiye, Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, were on the bench for Matthew Leckie and Nishan Velupillay.
The USMNT picked up right where they left off against Paraguay, and so did their fans. They swarmed the Aussie defense, attacking in waves. It was a busy midfield with both teams plays a back three at times. Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Malik Tillman were excellent. Folarin Balogun had a double spin on the ball late in the half to try and create.
Eleven minutes in, Antonee Robinson played Folarin Balogun in behind. The striker cut inside and crosses to Ricardo Pepi at the goalmouth. Cameron Burgess tapped it into his own net. It was two opening own goals in two games for the U.S.
“If I can force an error that gives us the lead, then for me, it’s like a goal. It was a special start to the game to give us momentum,” Balogun said in mixed zone. There was a joke that he’s on three goals for the tournament.
In the 43rd, the U.S. had set piece then played to the top of the box to Sergiño Dest. His shot was blocked. The ball looped in the air. Alex Freeman challenged Patrick Beach in the air. Freeman headed it home. The goal was initially called offside but VAR corrected it. The trailing defender from the wall defense kept it onside.
“When it was a goal, I looked back and I saw all my teammate running toward me. I thought, ‘Oh lord, I had to run.’ I ended up running and celebrating with them. It made me very emotional in the moment,” Freeman said.
Freeman’s dad Antonio caught two touchdowns at the old Kingdome during his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers.
“Full circle family moment. It shows how great the family tree is. It shows how amazing it is to have a dad who is successful and can mentor me.”
It was a physical game as well. Leckie had a hard tackle on Adams that could have been a yellow in the opening minutes. The ref let them play but the USA matched the tenacity.
Tony Popovic made a triple change at halftime, bringing on Irankunda and Metcalfe. Australia were much more dangerous in transition as a result. The U.S. were more conservative, playing the scoreline.
It got rather chippy as Australia were frustrated with how the game was going. There were stoppages as they had words with the official. Metcalfe was run into in the box on Irankunda’s first dribble into space. The shot was eventually over the bar and VAR did not intervene about a possible penalty. Balogun bumped into Harry Souttar, who shoulder checked him on a loose ball. That caused a coming together. Then a U.S. player went down away from the gathering. Three players were carded.
The USMNT had things on lock and the match ended 2-0. The United States play next Wednesday against Türkiye at Los Angeles Stadium. Kickoff is 8:00 p.m. Mountain Time.
Pulisic’s health might not be critical for that game but it will be come the Round of 32. Balogun said postgame he found out this morning that the number 10 would miss the match.
The Australia defense turned upside-down:
This was the first game this year where Australia looked unsettled defensively. They had numerous blocked shots. But their clearances and outlet balls were often under duress. That made it hard for them to start counter attacks. The back three for the U.S. did well playing sweeper.
“We just didn’t find that key pass to get us out of pressing situations. They trapped us in corners. It was a frustrating first half,” said Australia captain Harry Souttar.
“We have reacted well to starting games slow in the past.”
Circati let Balogun get inside of him, putting Burgess in a lose-lose situation. Not following up on deflected shot left Freeman wide open. This defense is normally organized. They do the simple things perfectly. That sets up the rest of their game model. Two little issues led to two goals.
“He’s (Mauricio Pochettino) always given us different ideas to attack. To play with Pepi today, wasn’t a shock. It wasn’t a Plan B because (Pulisic) was out. It felt like another solution to win the game. Australia play with a back five, so two strikers to occupy the center backs is a good idea. It worked,” Balogun said of the two-striker set up with Pepi.
Lineups from a Rapids perspective: Did Australia get it wrong?
For the second straight game, Herrington was an unused sub. This wasn’t surprising given how good Australia was in the opening game. We’ll see if there’s changes given the performance. I still believer Herrington plays at some point this tournament. Popovic will certainly face criticism for not starting the two goal scorers from the first game.
On the plus side, in the 80th minute, Auston Trusty subbed on to make his World Cup debut. The U.S. switched to a back four with Trusty playing a conservative left back. Not that different from his role in on the left in Robin Fraser’s back three in 2021.
Yellow cards to Chris Richards and Robinson are a concern.
A Banner Day for Seattle Soccer! USMNT World Cup History!
The atmosphere in and around the stadium was generational vibes. It was so different from LA last week. The fans did a March to the Match, following the traditional path for Sounders games. Fans told me it was ten times what it was for MLS games. The traveling Aussie fans brought the energy behind the south goal as well.
It was a party atmosphere. Colors, jerseys, kids on their parents’ shoulders. All the props and headgear. There’s something Mardi Gras, last day of school, field trip to the beach for the last day of school about the World Cup. It was a huge party. Everybody was excited and passionate.
The players did a lap of honor around the field afterwards with much of the crowd staying. The stadium audio blasted ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ with the fans singing along.
It was the best of humanity. It was community. It was beautiful. I will remember this day for the rest of my life.
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Spencer Baldwin 