World Cup co-hosts USA aim to keep the party going as they take on Australia in Seattle on Friday after kicking off the tournament with a crushing defeat of Paraguay. But they will be wary of an Australia side that also got their campaign started with a famous victory. Follow our live, minute-by-minute coverage.
USA winger Christian Pulisic will miss the key Group D game against Australia due to injury, after training separately from his teammates this week , coach Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed. Ricardo Pepi, who came off the bench in the Paraguay game, replaces Pulisic as the only change.
The starting XIs
USA: Matt Freese; Alex Freeman, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson; Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman; Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi; Folarin Balogun
Australia: Patrick Beach; Jacob Italiano, Alessandro Circati, Harry Souttar, Cameron Burgess, Jordan Bos; Mathew Leckie, Aiden O’Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler, Nishan Velupillay; Mohamed Toure
Own goal! USA 1-0 Australia
Balogun’s first touch a foul
McKennie crosses a good ball into the box but the referee sees a Balogun foul.
Robinson is busy down the left flank but his cross bounces off Italiano. The US forwards are pressing well.
A first shot for Australia’s Touré after Freeman gives away a cheap ball, but Freese saves.
The teams
The big news — that the co-hosts had feared — is that their key forward Christian Pulisic is out.
The injury that forced him off during the opening game against Paraguay is apparently more serious than first indicated. Ricardo Pepi takes his place.
USA: Matt Freese; Alex Freeman, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson; Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman; Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi; Folarin Balogun
Australia: Patrick Beach; Jacob Italiano, Alessandro Circati, Harry Souttar, Cameron Burgess, Jordan Bos; Mathew Leckie, Aiden O’Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler, Nishan Velupillay; Mohamed Toure
Echoes of an unfriendly ‘friendly’
In October, the US earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory against a physical Australia side in a friendly that coach Pochettino said was anything but.
That’s when the Argentinian coach famously told his players at half-time: “We’re American, we don’t take shit.”
Welcome to our liveblog
Few would have predicted that tonight’s game could decide who tops Group D, but the co-hosts’ demolition of Paraguay followed by the Socceroos’ humbling of Turkey makes whoever wins this game the firm favourites to progress in first place.
The skill and swagger with which the US dismantled Paraguay has rightly prompted a wave of excitement among their fans, which the side will seek to channel in Seattle.
But Australia pose a significant threat: they are physically imposing, well-drilled defensively and quick and clinical on the counter, all of which they showed against Turkey.
