United States 2-0 Australia: USMNT become second team to reach World Cup knockouts | OneFootball

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The United States became the second nation to qualify for the World Cup round of 32 with a 2-0 victory over Australia at the Seattle Stadium.

A Cameron Burgess own goal and Alex Freeman’s second international strike in the first half put the co-hosts in complete control, and walked their way to ending their 24-year wait to start the tournament with back-to-back victories.

A draw between Türkiye and Paraguay later on Thursday would secure top spot in Group D for Mauricio Pochettino’s side and guarantee being drawn against a third-placed side in the round of 32, while Australia remain second in Group D on three points.

As it happened

Pochettino’s side were left without their talisman Christian Pulisic, who was ruled out with a calf injury earlier in the day, and it was Australia who started brighter, as Mohamed Touré fired into the hands of Matt Freeze from the right side of the box.

The United States soon took control of possession, allowing Sergiño Dest to sneak into the box, but his left-footed strike was blocked by Burgess, who bravely threw his chest in front of the shot.

But there was nothing the Socceroos defence could do in the 11th minute, as Burgess’s fortunes quickly took a turn for the worse.

Hero of their 4-1 opening win against Paraguay, Florian Balogun drove down the left wing before drilling a dangerous ball across the six-yard box, where Burgess failed to sort out his feet and rattled the ball into his own net.

At the other end, Mathew Leckie searched for the top corner with a clever outside-of-the-foot effort, but the ball sailed over the crossbar without troubling Freese.

The game became a scrappy affair on either side of the hydration break, with Jordan Bos and Alessandro Circati going into the book for Australia; meanwhile, Pochettino’s men never felt like losing control of proceedings.

And with two minutes remaining in the first half, the USA doubled their lead. Dest’s shot from the edge of the box took a wicked deflection and dropped invitingly for Freeman, who beat Patrick Beach to the ball and headed into an empty net.

There was time for one more American chance before the break, as goalscorer Freeman set up Dest on the edge of the box, but the winger’s left-footed attempt was safely gathered by Beach.

The USA were chasing an eighth consecutive win in Seattle, and they nearly put the result beyond doubt five minutes into the second half.

Balogun burst through on goal, but a heavy touch allowed the recovering Circati to get back and deflect the shot for a corner.

Nestory Irankunda, who scored the winner against Türkiye, was introduced by Tony Popovic at half-time, while Cristian Volpato entered on the hour mark.

The pair soon combined to create Australia’s best chance of the game, with Irankunda sprinting down the right wing and picking out Volpato, but the midfielder fired over the bar.

The USA soon began to show signs of sloppiness as another Australian substitute, Connor Metcalfe, tried his luck from the edge of the box, but his effort was collected by Freese.

The Socceroos really should have pulled one back five minutes from half-time when substitute Jason Geria pounced on a mix-up in the box, but Tyler Adams produced a crucial block to deny him and preserve the USA’s clean sheet.

The closing stages featured more tussles and collisions than clear-cut chances, with the game repeatedly halted by yellow cards for both sides.

In one of the more bizarre moments of the night, referee Felix Zwayer even appeared to suffer cramps, forcing a lengthy stoppage and extending play beyond the allotted six minutes of added time.

In the end, the USA held on to join co-hosts Mexico in the Round of 16. Meanwhile, Australia remain second in Group D heading into Matchday three.

Although Türkiye could leapfrog the Socceroos with a victory by three goals or more next Thursday.

For more detailed reports, reaction, and analysis of the World Cup as it happens, head to our website and favourite our page on OneFootball.

USA – Australia Live Score