The U.S. men's national team has officially advanced to the FIFA World Cup knockout stage. In front of a capacity crowd in Seattle, the Americans defeated Australia 2-0 on Friday to clinch their spot in the Round of 32.
The victory came despite the absence of star midfielder Christian Pulisic, who sat out with a calf injury. The U.S. controlled possession from the opening whistle, validating their dominant performance against Paraguay earlier in the tournament.
Australia’s Cameron Burgess scored an own goal in the 11th minute after mishandling a pass from U.S. forward Folarin Balogun. Right back Alex Freeman doubled the lead in the 43rd minute with a header off a defensive rebound.
The win places the U.S. atop Group G with six points. They face Turkey in their final group match on June 25 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Australia sits on three points and likely requires at least a draw against Paraguay to advance.