USMNT Beat Australia 2-0 in Seattle to Reach World Cup Knockouts

Without Christian Pulisic, this was supposed to be the hard one. Instead the United States bossed Australia for most of 90 minutes, won 2-0 at a deafening Lumen Field on Friday, and reached the World Cup knockout rounds with a group game still to play.

It was the first time since 1930, the inaugural World Cup, that the U.S. men have won back-to-back matches at the tournament. The victory in front of 66,925 in Seattle puts them through to the round of 32 and means a draw against Türkiye on Thursday would secure the top of Group D and a favorable last-32 tie in Santa Clara against a third-placed side.

The opener arrived the way it did against Paraguay a week ago: from a defender's own goal. Folarin Balogun raced down the left and clipped in a cross that Cameron Burgess turned into his own net in the 11th minute. Two minutes before the break, Sergiño Dest's shot from distance deflected high into the air and Alex Freeman, son of the former NFL receiver Antonio Freeman, reacted quickest to nod home his first World Cup goal. He was barely onside; a VAR check confirmed it.

Pulisic watched in street clothes. The captain hurt his left calf two days before the Paraguay opener, aggravated it that night and was withdrawn at halftime; he did not train with the squad all week. He went through a session on Friday morning and was still not deemed fit. A U.S. Soccer spokesman called the calf "improving" and said the team was "optimistic" but would not rush him, a stance made easier by a result like this.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino's response to the absence was telling. Rather than a like-for-like replacement in Brenden Aaronson, he started Ricardo Pepi, who had never started a World Cup match. Pepi was not spectacular but pressed relentlessly in a game that was more physical than the Paraguay rout. Balogun, who scored twice in that 4-1 win, again stretched the Australian back line, while Tyler Adams shielded the defense behind the dribbles of Weston McKennie and the link play of Malik Tillman.

The wider tournament has already served up its share of shocks, from Cape Verde holding Spain to the milestones piling up around Lionel Messi. Against that backdrop, a U.S. side missing its most recognizable player looking this comfortable is its own kind of statement, as reflected in ESPN's match report and the reaction from Seattle.

Pochettino now has the luxury most coaches crave at a home World Cup: he can rest a star and still win. Whether Pulisic returns on Thursday or is saved for the knockouts, the bracket has become the Americans' to lose.