United States Faces Australia Without Pulisic in Group D Battle
The United States meets Australia in Seattle on Friday at 10:00 p.m. in a decisive Group D clash at the 2026 World Cup, with first place on the line. Mexico has already secured a place in the round of 32, and the Americans want to follow by beating Australia at Lumen Field. The U.S. opened the tournament with a historic 4-1 win over Paraguay, while the Socceroos surprised Turkey 2-0 and are aiming for another upset after losing a friendly to the Americans 2-1 eight months ago.
Christian Pulisic, who was substituted at halftime against Paraguay and only trained individually afterward, is not in the squad. Ricardo Pepi of PSV Eindhoven starts in his place, selected ahead of Gio Reyna, who scored a superb stoppage-time goal in the opener. Up front, Folarin Balogun remains in the lineup as he chases becoming the first American since Bert Patenaude in 1930 to score four goals in a single World Cup.
Australia also made changes. Nestory Irankunda, who hopes to become the first player since Memphis Depay in 2014 to score in both of his first two World Cup matches before turning 21, is not fully fit, so veteran Matt Leckie starts instead. Connor Metcalfe, who scored the second goal against Turkey, is on the bench, with Nishan Velupillay coming in. Patrick Beach, 22, keeps his place in goal after an outstanding display against Turkey despite arriving at the tournament as the third-choice goalkeeper.
The match is being played at Lumen Field in Seattle and officiated by Felix Zwayer of Germany. Maurizio Pochettino’s United States and Tony Popovic’s Australia both line up in a 3-5-2 formation. In the standings before kickoff, the United States and Australia each have 3 points, while Turkey and Paraguay are pointless. Later Group D fixtures are Turkey vs. Paraguay in San Francisco on June 20 at 7:00 a.m., Turkey vs. the United States in Los Angeles on June 26 at 5:00 a.m., and Paraguay vs. Australia in San Francisco on June 26 at 5:00 a.m.
