SEATTLE – The U.S. men's national team's World Cup of good vibes continued on Friday against Australia, overcoming serious challenges posed to that effort in a 2-0 victory that secured advancement to the round of 32. The Socceroos are a dramatic foil to the USMNT's fluid, attack-minded style and on several occasions lived up to the sport's archetypes about teams that lack style but make up for it with an overwhelming physicality. The USMNT had to contend with those factors while Christian Pulisic sat on the bench in sneakers, a calf issue ensuring he would not be available for the matchup. There were few similarities to pick out between the dominant 4-1 win against Paraguay a week ago, but two games into the World Cup and nearly a month after the group first convened for their preparations, the vibes are still high as ever.
Winning a second straight game at the World Cup for the first time since 1930 will do that, so will putting yourself in prime position to top the group, possibly with a game to spare if Turkiye fail to beat Paraguay. Mauricio Pochettino's team adopted a mix-and-match approach that the circumstances required; the coach with years of experience in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, ultimately managed a unique challenge expertly.
To be fair, the USMNT started with some tried-and-true methods and reaped the rewards early on. Pochettino's high-intensity style was on display for all to see, especially with Folarin Balogun's cross in the 10th minute, which seemed destined for Ricardo Pepi but instead hit Australia's Cameron Burgess on the way in, the U.S. forcing a second own goal in a week. Those glimmers of Pochettino's well-documented tactical strategy never truly faded, either. Pepi essentially pressed Australia's backline all game, while Sergino Dest and Weston McKennie connected frequently on the right flank to trouble an opposition defense that arrived to the game with the intent to defend as well as they could.
For a little while, it was touch and go. Australia never really commanded full control of the game, but they did break up the USMNT's fluidity often in the first half with a range of hard, physical challenges, to the point that the U.S. went 16 minutes without a shot after taking five in the opening 22 minutes. The U.S.' dedication to their methods paid off, a free kick shortly before the break paved the way for Alex Freeman to bag the team's second, enough of a cushion before the break.
Then, the all gas, no breaks version of the USMNT Pochettino has long tried to build began to fade. Australia's triple substitution at halftime only got them so much closer to scoring a goal, even if they did have their moments, but the U.S. team found ways to survive a game that was no longer on their terms. A few nervy moments offered the stark reminder that the USMNT were in search of their first clean sheet since September, which they finally found 10 games later. The USMNT, though, did not put up much of an effort to find a third goal that would suck the life out of their visitors, and perhaps set up a very perilous set of circumstances when they wrap up group play against Paraguay on Thursday.
Nearly two years after taking the job, Pochettino instead offered a first real glimpse at what his version of holding down the fort looks like. Pepi came off after 74 minutes of unglamorous but important grunt work, while attack-minded outside back Antonee Robinson and wingback-turned-winger Sergino Dest exited with 10 minutes to go. The trio were all replaced by players with more defensive tendencies – Sebastian Berhalter entered for Pepi, while Joe Scally and Auston Trusty each got 10 minutes in. It was unlike Pochettino, but a World Cup comes with different, and very, very high, stakes. The result offered a latest dose of validation for the U.S. team, who have endured a rocky road en route to a World Cup on home soil, but are slowly living up to the promise. Their belief that attacking depth is their strength remains true -- Pepi was not the same as Pulisic but pulled off his role well -- while Pochettino's hire continues to look like the right call with each passing day. Perhaps most notably, though, the coach's insistence in September of 2024 that he had enough time to build a team in his image and one that reflected their potential is a take that ages better and better from one week to the next.
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