USMNT vs. Australia: Opponent Profile, Recent Form & History | OneFootball

The U.S. Men’s National Team is set for a top-of-the-table clash against Group D foe Australia in the Pacific Northwest this Friday. While the United States is fresh off a rousing victory against Paraguay in its FIFA World Cup 2026 opener, the Socceroos will be equally energized after shutting down a talented Türkiye side in a 2-0 victory last weekend in Vancouver.

Here’s everything you need to know about Australia ahead of a Friday clash in which the USMNT will be eager to add to its perfect 6-0-0 record at Seattle Stadium.

WHEN IS THE USMNT VS. AUSTRALIA MATCH?

The United States will continue its FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign against Asian Football Confederation (AFC) side Australia on Friday, June 19 at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT at Seattle Stadium in Seattle, Wash. The match will be carried live on FOX and Telemundo.

WHAT IS THE ALL-TIME HISTORY BETWEEN THE USMNT AND AUSTRALIA?

The United States and Australia have met on four prior occasions—all non-official matches - between 1992 and 2025. The lone Australia win came in the first meeting, a 1-0 contest at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. in 1992. Since then, the USMNT has gone unbeaten against the Socceroos, settling for a scoreless draw in San Jose, Calif. in 1998 before picking up a pair of victories more recently—first a 3-1 win in Roodepoort, South Africa in 2010 just prior to the World Cup, and later a 2-1 come-from-behind victory in Commerce City, Colo. last October.

In the pair’s most recent meeting, striker Haji Wright recorded a brace and Cristian Roldan tallied two assists, while 17 of the 24 players on the matchday squad earned a spot on head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s final World Cup roster.

WHAT IS AUSTRALIA’S WORLD RANKING?

Australia is currently ranked 22nd in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Rankings, its highest ranking since May 8, 2012. At the moment, the Socceroos are ranked as the third-highest AFC team, trailing only Japan (17) and Korea Republic (21).

WHAT IS AUSTRALIA’S RECENT FORM?

After blitzing through AFC World Cup qualifiers with an 11-1-4 record and +31 goal differential between March 2024 and June 2025, Australia hit the pitch for 10 pre-World Cup tune-ups. Against a pool of nine unique teams from five different confederations boasting an average World Ranking of roughly 43, Australia went 5-4-1, notably losing against Mexico (May 30), Colombia (Nov. 18) and the United States (Oct. 14), picking up a draw against Switzerland (June 6) and securing victories against Canada (Oct. 10) and Cameroon (March 27).

The Socceroos earned their fifth World Cup match victory last weekend, shutting out a confident Türkiye side 2-0 at BC Place Vancouver thanks to eight saves from 22-year-old goalkeeper Patrick Beach—a record for an Australian goalkeeper in a World Cup and the most by any goalkeeper on his World Cup debut since 2002—and goals from 20-year-old Nestory Irankunda and FC St. Pauli man Connor Metcalfe. Despite only holding 28.3% possession—Australia’s lowest in a World Cup match—the contest was ultimately decided by Irankunda’s match-winning first-half strike as he became the Socceroos’ youngest World Cup goalscorer.

WHO IS AUSTRALIA’S HEAD COACH?

Australia is led by 52-year-old head coach Tony Popovic, who recently became the first person to both play for and coach the Socceroos in a World Cup match. He was named Australia’s head coach on Sept. 23, 2024, and has since compiled an 11-4-4 record.

The former defender spent the majority of his playing career in England with Crystal Palace (2001-06), also spending time in his native Australia with Sydney United 58 FC (1989-97) and Sydney FC (2007-08), as well as Japan with Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1997-01). With Australia’s national teams, Popovic made appearances in both the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 2006 FIFA World Cup and helped the Socceroos to a pair of OFC Men’s Nations Cup titles in 1996 and 2000.

After retiring from professional soccer in 2008, Popovic remained with Sydney FC in an assistant coaching role before returning to Crystal Palace in a similar role. He earned his first head coaching job in 2012, leading Western Sydney Wanderers FC (2012-17) before going on to helm Türkiye’s Kardemir Karabükspor (2017), Perth Glory FC (2018-20), Greece’s Xanthi FC (2020-21) and Melbourne Victory FC (2021-24). During his club coaching career, Popovic helped the Wanderers become the first Australian side to win the AFC Champions League Elite (2014), won the A-League with the Wanderers (2012-13) and Perth Glory (2018-19) and was named Coach of the Year in both the AFC (2014) and A-League (2012-13, 2018-19, 2021-22).

WHO ARE KEY AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS TO WATCH?

Popovic made the decision to bench captain and goalkeeper Mathew Ryan along with vice-captain and midfielder Jackson Irvine for his side’s opening World Cup match against Türkiye. The gamble paid off, as the pair’s replacements—22-year-old Beach in goal and 21-year-old Paul Okon-Engstler in midfield—made key contributions in Australia’s victory: Beach made a record-setting eight saves and Okon-Engstler provided the assist on Irankunda’s match-winner.

The pacey winger, Irankunda, made the most of his 61 minutes and 18 touches, scoring the winner to become Australia’s youngest World Cup goal scorer. Additionally, the Socceroos are bolstered by a stoutdefensive unit, composed of Feyenoord Rotterdam’s Jordan Bos, Parma Calcio 1913’s Alessandro Circati, Leicester City’s Harry Souttar and rising Colorado Rapids teenager Lucas Herrington.

Further up the pitch, Australia is anchored by midfielders Cristian Volpato of Sassuolo in Italy, Cammy Devlin of Scottish Premier League runners up Heart of Midlothian, and the New York City FC tandem of Aiden O’Neill and Kai Trewin—both teammates of USMNT goalkeeper Matt Freese. The Socceroos’ goalscoring presence is highlighted by 22-year-old Norwich City forward Mohamed Touré and the attack-minded duo of wingers Irankunda and Metcalfe, who both scored against Türkiye last time out.