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Key events
12 min Nearly an immediate answer from Australia. Leckie makes a clever off-the-ball run across the top of the box, the ball is dinked to him, and he rips a shot with the outside of his boot that doesn’t miss by much.
Goal! USA 1-0 Australia (Burgess OG, 11 min)
Balogun is having a massive World Cup. He beats his man on the flank, drives into the box and taps it over to Pepi. The unfortunate Burgess desperately intercepts, but he’s three yards from his own goal, and it is in fact an own goal.
10 min USA in possession, but I don’t think Australia really mind. As I say that, they ramp up the press.
9 min Good chance for the USA as Dest finds a diagonal seam in the box. His shot is blocked.
8 min Mathew Leckie comes in very late in a tackle and lands a hard kick to Tyler Adams’ leg. Very difficult to understand why that’s not a yellow card.
7 min Australia press and gain possession. They lose it, then regain it, then play ahead to Touré, who is sandwiched by US defenders.
The red-and-white team is looking a little shaky at the moment.
6 min Good cross from McKennie on the right, but Balogun is whistled for a foul.
4 min Our first foul is against Weston McKennie.
3 min Robinson tries to make something happen deep on the left flank against Italiano, but his cross bangs off Italiano and back off his own leg for a goal kick.
2 min US attackers are pressing all the way up the field. It works, and Australia back off while the USA knock the ball around.
1 min Shocking giveaway on the US backline, with Freeman’s pass eluding Richards. Touré shoots from a wide angle, and Freese makes an easy save.
Peep!
We’re off.
Officials
Referee is Felix Zwayer, leading an all-German on-field crew.
Fellow German Bastian Dankert is at the VAR switch.
Frantic pre-kickoff mailbag check
“My prediction is that USA score within the first 20 minutes and conduct a “lay up” goal celebration. This will infuriate the Australians and turn the game into a brawl like something from the 1962 World Cup. Not sure what the Australian retort will be if they score. I still remember the Apolo Ohno and Roy Jones Jr celebrations against Korea in 2002. That kind of thing can really fire up a team.” – John McBride
If you don’t know the South Korean Ohno celebration, check it out. Strange story.
“I think the USA media made some conclusions based on the last game that, uh, might be a little (a lot) wrong. I watched Souttar quite a bit when he was a Stoke City player and he’s not someone to take lightly.” – Joshua Reynolds
“True Blue living in Sheffield and also an Arsenal fan. Go figure. Australia are going to WIN. Then I’m off to Butlins to celebrate. Socceroos is a truly AWFUL nickname but we’re know stuck with it, only marginally better than the Matildas urghh. Cmon Australia. Win it for my friend Simon, currently residing in the stars.” – Simone Holmes
“I think we want a more topical name – “The Cagefighters”, maybe, or “The Ballroom Boys”?” – Charles Antaki
“How about the DoodleDoos? (Following on from that universally beloved “Yankee Doodle Dandy” ditty).” – Julian Scott Yeomans
Summary
Several solid pockets of yellow in the stands. Australian fans are representing.
Alexander Abnos
Paris Hilton is, for some reason, leading the USA chants pregame.
Pablo Iglesias Maurer
The atmosphere here at Lumen Field (excuse me, Seattle Stadium, how dare I) is positively electric a full 30 minutes before kickoff. This was predictable — the stadium has a well-earned reputation for being among the loudest in the United States — but it is still a sight to behold. The place is nearly full, and there are no shortage of Aussie fans as well, very prominently sat behind the goal at the south end of the stadium. Truly incredible atmosphere.
Pre-anthem mailbag
Sorry I can’t get to everything, but please keep writing!
Any suggestions for a US nickname akin to “Socceroos”?
“Although I think the nickname ‘The Yanks’ is pretty great, it’s no ‘Socceroos’. And the best I can come up with is ‘Soccer Moms’ and I’m ashamed I’m even writing that down.” – Joshua Reynolds
“Soccerillos, of course, because of the armadillos.” – Kirk Allbright
“I’m sorry to trash my country, but looking at the three host mascots, USA clearly has the worst. 1. Tiger 2. Moose 3. Eagle. As far as a good nickname, the Minutemen?” – Zach Neeley
That might add a bit of spice the next time the USA face England.
An Australian perspective (and please, if you’re awake in Australia right now, send me a note!):
“Australia needs a draw from this game. We cannot lose and leave it until the last minute against Paraguay to get a point. I’m excited for this game – I think Australia can repeat their performance against Turkey barring Popovic not going back into defensive and negativity mode. Keep throwing players up on the counter and get the ball forward when we have to. No Pulisic, Irakunda and Metcalfe out could be a sign for 0-0.” – James Pareskevas
On nomenclature:
“Football or soccer? It is all about who you are communicating with. When I am on a Premier League MBM I use football. Mainly because the blowback is tedious. When I post on The Athletic I say soccer, once again because it is simpler. For those UK football fans for who the term soccer is an irritant you should not have invented it.” – Mary Waltz
I’m often astounded that so many of the people who take the USA (or Australia, or Ireland, etc.) to task for the word “soccer” don’t realize that the etymology runs through England.
And we have to get a word from Peter Oh: “Are any of the US players wearing kangaroo leather boots?”
Australian lineup: Head-scratcher or tactical brilliance?
Australian Associated Press reports …
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has dropped goalscorers Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe to the bench for Australia’s blockbuster clash with the United States.
Veteran Mathew Leckie, playing for the first time at his fourth World Cup, and Nishan Velupillay are the two inclusions in attack for the game that could determine who finishes top of group D.
Irankunda, who was electric in the 2-0 win over Turkey, including scoring a brilliant opener, and Metcalfe, who delivered a wonderful second-half goal, loom as impact substitutes.
“Impact substitutes” could be an understatement if Australia’s five-man backline can contain the US attack early.
Which is one reason why the US punditocracy may be just a tad overconfident, perhaps?
The rivalry?
Is there bad blood between the USA and Australia? Alexander Abnos notes the feisty undertones in a relatively recent friendly:
A couple of players-turned-commentators have fanned the flames a bit, as Jack Snape relates:
The slandering began late last year when the USA were drawn against Australia. Former professional player and now TV pundit Mike Grella said the Socceroos represented a “lay-up” for the hosts.
Grella addressed the backlash to his comments on Wednesday: “I’ve got tell you something, I don’t think they’ve ever been more united as a football side. If they do something in this tournament – which they won’t – if they do something in this tournament, they should make a statue of me there in Australia, because I’ve unified an entire country.”
The barbs didn’t stop with him. Former USA player Landon Donovan also dismissed the Socceroos’ chances after the draw, and took aim at Australia’s “smug” coach. “You can get on the Qantas airplane and head back home,” he said.
I feel obliged to note that Grella and I went to the same college. Many years apart.
But Snape also notes that the countries and their soccer cultures are similar – youth participation has been strong, but building professional success is a work in progress.
Starting XIs: Pulisic out
The injury that was downplayed during the opening game against Paraguay is apparently more serious than first indicated. Throughout the week, the driving force of the US attack was limited in training, raising questions about his availability today.
He is indeed not available. Ricardo Pepi will take his place.
Australia will have five at the back, so it’ll be important for Jordan Bos (Feyenoord) on the left and Jacob Italiano (Grazer AK) on the right to get forward. The USA lineup includes two players who’ve spent time as wingbacks, and left back Antonee “Jedi” Robinson (Fulham) is likely to play that role, but the broadcasters’ graphics are insisting that Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven) will be in midfield, not at the back.
The full lineups:
Australia: Beach; Bos, Burgess, Souttar, Circati, Italiano; Velupillay, Okon-Engstler, O’Neill, Leckie; Toure
USA: Freese; Robinson, Ream, Richards, Freeman; Dest, Adams, Tillman, McKennie; Pepi, Balogun
Neither of Australia’s scorers from the 2-0 win over Turkiye, Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, will start.
What’s at stake …
The US men are out to do what no US men’s team have done in 96 years.
Win a second consecutive World Cup match.
Only twice have the US men followed a World Cup win with anything other than a loss. In 2002, they kept enough momentum from their opening win against Portugal to get a draw against South Korea, then lost to Poland and needed a Portuguese meltdown in another group game to advance to the famous 2-0 win over Mexico in the Round of 16. In their credible run in 2014, they followed the exorcism against Ghana by snatching a draw from the jaws of victory against Portugal, then bowing out with two dignified defeats against Germany and Belgium.
More commonly, a US men’s World Cup win is followed by a game fans would rather forget. In 1950, the famous win against England preceded a 5-2 defeat by Chile. In 1994, the last time the Cup was on US soil, they followed their rousing win against Colombia with a loss to Romania that reminded the casual US sports fan why they didn’t really care for soccer. In 2010, the “Howard to Donovan to Altidore to Dempsey to wow this is really happening DONOVAN SCORES ON THE REBOUND AHHHHHHHHH!! BAR CELEBRATIONS GO VIRAL” win over Algeria sent them to a second straight elimination at the feet of Ghana. Then in 2022, the Flying Pulisics avenged a 1998 loss to Iran but ran into the Netherlands.
Australia won two straight World Cup* games in 2022, beating Tunisia and Denmark to reach the knockout rounds, but they can also make history. The Socceroos have never finished first in a World Cup group. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head results, so if Australia win this game, it would take a convoluted series of results (Paraguay over Turkiye, Paraguay over Australia, USA over Turkiye) to complicate matters.
Before the 2022 Cup, the Socceroos had only won two World Cup games in their history – one in 2006, when they also got a draw to advance to the knockouts, and one in 2010.
(*) – pointing out once again that the term “World Cup” refers to the entire tournament including qualification, so what I’m describing above is technically based on results from World Cup finals, which is the term for the 32-team … I mean, 48-team … tournament we’re watching now.
Jeff Rueter
With Christian Pulisic out, Mauricio Pochettino opts for a big man/little man strike partnership with Ricardo Pepi slotting in alongside Folarin Balogun. Pepi is the pool’s best hold-up forward, willing to drop into midfield to help in possession sequences and a consistent contributor to a frontline press. He can now do all kinds of off-ball work with Balogun able to stretch the backline and keep Australia from clamping into too tight a defensive block.
Malik Tillman, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie offers adequate balance in midfield, with width coming via Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson.
Christian Pulisic is out
The lineups are out, and Christian Pulisic is not only not among the starters, but he’s not listed among the subs either. Mauricio Pochettino has told the Fox pregame broadcast that the US star is unavailable.
Pulisic has been dealing with a calf injury since before the first game against Paraguay, which was aggravated in the first half. Pulisic exited at half-time of the 4-1 win.
Ricardo Pepi comes into the XI in his place, which will presumably change the look considerably.
Preamble
Welcome to a matchup between two countries united by one vital fact …
Both countries refer to this sport as “soccer” rather than “football.”
Actually, most English-speaking countries commonly use the word soccer. Consider Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa.
Australia is unique in the sense that the word is incorporated in their nickname – Socceroos. Which raises an important question: Why doesn’t the US team have a cool nickname like that?
Feel free to send in your ideas while waiting for this one to start. In any case, this is a vital game, with each team poised to advance to the knockout rounds.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at what Australia and the USA will each need to do to win Friday’s clash in Seattle:
Australia
Back Nestory Irankunda: the 20-year-old was expected to be an impact player at this World Cup, coming on as a substitute to affect matches against tiring opposition. A player of the match performance when starting against Turkey showed how Irankunda has become one of the Socceroos’ most important players. While still learning his wing-craft, his speed and determination without the ball are vital in a Socceroos outfit seemingly happy to give their opponents’ possession, and his ability to make the most of transition and direct opportunities – as seen for his opening goal against Turkey – can be a superpower.
United States
Midfield rotations are key: this is the kind of thing that any USMNT fan would have known before last week’s fantastic opener, but the nature of the US’s play in that game made it especially so. Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro took time in his presser to specifically compliment the starting trio of Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Malik Tillman, whom he described as “floating” and a key part of a “pentagon” of play. For as well as Australia played against Turkey, they did not dictate the tempo, conceding more than 70% of possession and getting overrun in the centre of the park. If the US are going to do something with similar levels of possession, they’ll need their midfield to continue rotating effectively to help pull the Socceroos’ back two lines out of shape, manufacturing gaps in what had proven to be an airtight defence.
#USA #Australia #World #Cup #live #World #Cup
