In 1994, when the United States hosted its first World Cup, the public’s lack of tradition was reflected at the end of the local team’s debut. After the 1-1 draw against Switzerland in Detroit, thousands of fans remained in the stadium waiting for extra time. According to their sporting culture, a match could not end without a winner: they had to be informed from the loudspeakers that the match had already ended. Once again in the United States but now in 2026, Mauricio Pochettino’s team began the World Cup as if it were incapable of drawing: the 4-1 victory against Paraguay in the opening of Group D was followed by a new victory, 2-0 against Australia at noon in Seattle, which guaranteed it a place in the round of 32.
2
Matt Freese, Chris Richards, Alex Freeman, Tim Ream, Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman, Antonee Robinson (Auston Trusty, min. 79), Weston McKennie (Giovanni Reyna, min. 95), Sergiño Dest (Joe Scally, min. 79), Folarin Balogun (Haji Wright, min. 95) y Ricardo Pepi (Sebastian Berhalter, min. 73)
0
Patrick Beach, Cameron Burgess (Jason Geria, min. 45), Jacob Italiano, Jordan Bos, Alessandro Circati, Harry Souttar, Nishan Velupillay (Connor Metcalfe, min. 45), Mathew Leckie (Cristian Volpato, min. 60), Aiden O’Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler (Jackson Irvine, min. 77) y Mohamed Touré (Nestory Irankunda, min. 45)
Goals 1-0 min. 10: Cameron Burgess. 2-0 min. 42: A. Freeman
Referee Felix Zwayer
yellow cards Jordan Bos (min. 15), Alessandro Circati (min. 31), Robinson (min. 55), Folarin Balogun (min. 88), Harry Souttar (min. 88), Jacob Italiano (min. 88), Chris Richards (min. 92)
United States (3-0 at halftime) and repeated the formula against the Australians: even the 2-0 they achieved in the opening 45 minutes fell short. The absence of Christian Pulisic, with a physical discomfort, did not prevent the overwhelming dominance of the locals, who once again showed the freshness and mobility in attack that they had exhibited in their debut.
Australia was a manifesto of impotence in the face of the American variants: on the right, Dest; in the center, Weston McKennie; and on the left, Folarin Balogun.
The game opened in the 11th minute with an own goal by Cameron Burgess after a pass from Balogun and closed in the 43rd minute with a rebound capitalized by Alex Freeman, Villarreal’s defender.
Before and after the goals, and also during the second half, the United States showed themselves as a supportive team, putting pressure on the opponent’s field and having offensive voracity. Australia, which had just beaten Turkey in its debut, opted for three substitutions at halftime but was always far from goalkeeper Matt Freese of New York City FC, the only Major League Soccer representative on Pochettino’s team.
If the MLS is often disparaged as a second or third world tournament, in line with the country’s lack of soccer culture, Pochettino put together a team that deserves respect. Even while waiting for the decisive moments, the United States won its first two matches in a World Cup for the first time since 1930. Football is beginning to beat soccer.
