USA clinch place in World Cup knockouts with win over Australia

United States of America vs Australia; FIFA World Cup Group D United States of America vs Australia. FIFA World Cup Group D. CenturyLink FieldAttendance66,925. World Cup 2026: USA 2-0 Australia - Alex Freeman goal helps co-hosts secure place in knockout stages Match report as USA beat Australia 2-0 to book place in World Cup knockout stages; Cameron Burgess scored own goal before Alex Freeman headed in second in Seattle; co-hosts USA become second team to reach round of 32 after Mexico Friday 19 June 2026 22:14, UK Co-hosts USA secured their place in the World Cup knockout stages with a 2-0 victory over Australia in Group D. Having beaten Paraguay 4-1 in their opening game in Los Angeles, Mauricio Pochettino's side produced another commanding display in Seattle to continue their strong start to the tournament. Folarin Balogun, scorer of two goals against Paraguay, forced the opener when Australia defender Cameron Burgess turned the striker's cut-back into his own net in the 11th minute. - As it happened | Teams | Stats | Group D guide - World Cup day-by-day schedule | Latest: World Cup - Follow our World Cup coverage in the Sky Sports App Defender Alex Freeman added the second when VAR overturned an offside call against him after he had nodded Serginio Dest's deflected shot over the line following a USA corner. Head coach Tony Popovic tried to get Australia back into the game by making a triple change at half-time but they were unable to meaningfully trouble goalkeeper Matt Freese as USA became the second team to reach the knockouts after Mexico. The key moments from Seattle... 11: GOAL! Burgess sends Balogun's cut-back into his own net for the opener 43: GOAL RULED OUT! The linesman flags Freeman for offside after he heads in 45: GOAL GIVEN! VAR overturns the offside decision and the goal is given 45+7: SAVE! Dest tests Patrick Beech with a low shot 52: WASTE! Balogun spurns a one-on-one chance to add a third 62: OVER! Australia's Cristian Volpato fires a good chance over after coming off the bench 65: SAVE! Connor Metcalfe, another Australia substitute, shoots too close to Freese 87: AGGRO! Three late bookings as tempers fray in closing stages