United States beats Australia and guarantees place in the knockout stages of the World Cup

The United States advanced to the knockout phase of the 2026 World Cup. This Friday (19), at Lumen Field, in Seattle, the hosts beat Australia 2-0 in the second round of Group D and reached their second consecutive victory in the tournament.

Despite playing away from home on paper, Australia created the first opportunity in the opening minute. Mohamed Touré received the ball inside the box and finished in the corner, requiring a good save from goalkeeper Matt Freese.

The American response came quickly. Dominating possession of the ball and occupying the attacking field, the United States opened the scoring after 10 minutes. Folarin Balogun advanced from the left and crossed low into the area. In an attempt to ward off the danger, defender Cameron Burgess deflected the ball against his own team and put the home team at an advantage.

With more than 65% possession of the ball during almost the entire first half, the team led by Mauricio Pochettino continued to control the actions. Australia found it difficult to build plays and only threatened in sporadic moves.

The second goal came in stoppage time of the opening stage. In the 45th minute, Sergiño Dest took a risk from the edge of the area, the defense blocked it and Alex Freeman took advantage of the rebound to head into the net. Initially, the referee ruled for offside, but VAR reviewed the play and confirmed the goal, extending the United States' lead to 2-0.

When the break came around, the Australians adopted a more aggressive stance in search of a reaction. In the 17th minute, Nestory Irankunda counterattacked and found Cristian Volpato free in the area, but the striker finished over the crossbar. Shortly afterwards, Connor Metcalfe took a risk from outside the box and was saved by Matt Freese.

Even with the Socceroos' improvement, the Americans maintained control of the match. With a high pass success rate and good ball circulation, they managed the advantage without suffering any major scares until the final whistle.

With the result, the United States reaches six points and is very close to guaranteeing a place in the round of 32 of the World Cup. Australia is still in the fight for classification and will decide its future in the last round of the group stage.

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Source: CNN