Three Reasons USMNT Will Beat Australia in High-Profile World Cup Tilt
All eyes will be on Seattle on Friday afternoon, when the USMNT takes on Australia in a critical World Cup match.
The Americans began the tournament with a dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay, while Australia blanked Türkiye 2-0 to set up a high-profile contest that could decide the winner of Group D. Both teams gave their fans a reason to believe entering Friday’s game, but things are pointing in one direction in particular with mere hours to go until the opening kick off.
The Americans have a star on their hands
Folarin Balogun was nothing short of sensational during a throttling performance against the Paraguayans, tallying two goals to power his team’s convincing victory. Balogun elected to play for the USMNT rather than England and Nigeria and American fans are overjoyed with his decision.
The 24-year-old striker not only helped his team advance with one of the best-ever performances from the USA at the World Cup, he provided real hope that this is the year we see the USMNT achieve something special. I think he’ll find the back of the net again on Friday against the Aussies.
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USMNT has home-field advantage
The American men have never won a World Cup title in their history, with their best finish coming in the first-ever tournament in 1930 in Uruguay, when they finished third. Otherwise, they’ve never made it past the quarterfinal round throughout their history, which the USMNT reached in 2002. The last time they qualified as co-hosts of the event in 1994, they advanced to the Round of 16.
This time around it feels different, with the biggest difference being American soccer fans packing stadiums around the country, to only in support of their team, but the sport as a whole. On Tuesday, a day in which the USMNT did not play, 281,223 fans were in the stands across four American venues, making it the most highly-attended day in World Cup history.
Expect Seattle Stadium, home of the Seattle Seahawks, to be bursting with American pride against the Australians, who may never stand a chance with the soccer version of the 12th man ready to pounce.
USA finally has the right man in charge
Finally, the USMNT may have finally found the coach it’s been looking for all these years, as Mauricio Pochettino pushed all the right buttons for his team in Game 1. The Americans played a fast-paced, aggressive style that served them well against Paraguay.
Expect more of the same against Australia, with one potential exception. Captain Christian Politic is dealing with a left calf injury that sidelined him throughout the team’s week of training leading into Friday’s match. His status remains unclear, although Pochettino did previously assert that if Pulisic can’t play against Australia, he would be ready for his team’s next game of the group stage.
The USMNT will kick off with Australia at 3 p.m. My prediction is a 2-1 USMNT victory.
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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 1:21 PM.