Mauricio Pochettino’s first lineup for the United States men’s national team dismantled Paraguay and made USA the talk of the tournament’s first couple of days.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
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Pochettino’s Yanks return to the pitch in the hopes of sealing a knockout round place with a win over Australia, who beat Turkiye 2-0 in their first game.
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It has to be considered a mild surprise. So how did the Socceroos do it? Well, they defended like demons for one thing. Australia was out-attempted 30-9 — 10-4 in the first half and 20-5 in the second — but scored midway through each half to delight their fans down under.
What did Australia show in World Cup opener and friendly loss to USMNT?
It was an eight-save day for Melbourne City goalkeeper Patrick Beach, 22, as the Socceroos were stout up the middle and found goals from both of their wide midfielders. Turkiye ran a 4-2-3-1.
The U.S. and Australia met in an October friendly which saw the Yanks come back for a 2-1 win. Jordan Bos put Australia ahead after 19 minutes and — perhaps ironically — Christian Pulisic left the game with a 31st minute injury as Haji Wright went on to score a game-winning brace.
The Americans were playing a back three but Pochettino did not have Tyler Adams. The coach also did not start Folarin Balogun, Malik Tillman, or Tim Ream, while Australia did not have Leicester back Harry Souttar and weekend hero Nestory Irankunda of Watford.
Predicting Mauricio Pochettino’s USA lineup against Australia at World Cup
The U.S. have had more recovery time than their Friday foes but are waiting on Christian Pulisic’s readiness for the game.
It wouldn’t be crazy to start him on the bench anyway knowing they completed their friendly comeback win over the Socceroos with Pulisic off the pitch.
If there are changes, perhaps Timothy Weah could get a run out wide. Could Timothy Weah or Giovanni Reyna start to give a 90-minute man like Weston McKennie a rest? Might Matt Turner get a start between the posts?
Australia have the vibes of a tournament-opening win and are a physical side but it’s difficult to say they are a much better or more threatening side than Paraguay. FIFA Rankings say the Socceroos are 20 spots better but ELO Ratings put it at four places.
This will be a tricky game but it won’t do the U.S. any good to dial it down after impressing with their aggression against Paraguay.
Matt Freese
Alex Freeman — Chris Richards — Tim Ream — Antonee Robinson
Tyler Adams
Sergino Dest — Malik Tillman — Weston McKennie — Christian Pulisic
Folarin Balogun
