Socceroos quick hits: Selection stunner leaves stars on bench, coach's VAR frustration

1 1 1 →1 0 →1 2 →0 7 →1 2 →2 1 →0 5 →1 0 →0 1 →1 1 →1 2 →2 3 →1 1 →4 3 →0 3 →1 1 →1 4 →2 1 →0 1 →3 1 →1 4 →1 6 →0 1 →0 2 →0 Live 0 →1 - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- World Cup Socceroos quick hits: Nestory Irankunda starts on the bench and Cristian Volpato impresses Sat 20 Jun 2026 at 8:22am A Cameron Burgess own goal and VAR drama cost Australia against the US, before cramp proved a problem for the match referee. - Check out the full World Cup schedule here in Australian times - Re-live all the action from the Socceroos vs USA at the World Cup - ABC Sport Daily podcast: Check out the latest episode Here are the five quick hits from the Australia's 2-0 loss to the USA. 1. Popovic makes some big calls As the team news dropped ahead of the clash with the USA, two big names were missing for the Socceroos. Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, who scored the goals that beat Türkiye, were left on the bench by coach Tony Popovic, with Mathew Leckie and Nishan Velupillay brought in. Leaving out the two players who scored against Türkiye was also a brave move which left many fans and pundits puzzled. In the SBS studio, Lydia Williams and Kevin-Prince Boateng were both up in arms. Popovic said he made the calls because he wanted "some freshness in the wide areas". "Just [a] short turnaround in terms of the emotion and everything physical that went into the last game," he said. After the game Popovic stuck to his guns, while acknowledging that later substitutions had brought some much-needed energy to the second half. 2. Own-goal nightmare It was not the start the Socceroos needed. For Socceroos defender Cameron Burgess, it was a World Cup moment to forget. US striker Folarin Balogun made a brilliant run down the left side and fired the ball across goal. There was nothing Burgess could do but watch the ball deflect in off his legs as he struggled to get out of the way. The home crowd erupted as Burgess stood with his head in his hands. 3. VAR drama It looked like an offside flag was going to save the Socceroos. Sergiño Dest fired in a shot which deflected into the air off a Socceroos defender, with Alex Freeman powering the header past Patrick Beach. The flag went up. It looked like the Socceroos had been saved. But when referee Felix Zwayer signalled for VAR, the Socceroos knew they were in trouble. Folarin Balogun was clearly offside when he raced towards the falling ball. But goalscorer Freeman was kept onside by Jacob Italiano's right right foot. VAR gave the goal to rapturous cheers from the home fans. Popovic would go on to say after the game that he believed Balogun had interfered with Beach as Freeman nodded it in, and while replays from the side view were inconclusive, shots from behind the goal showed that there wasn't much in it. "I wouldn't say today was the best day for the referees," Popovic said. "But overall we weren't good enough in the first half. You've got to hand it to them [the USA], they are very strong." 4. Poppa rings changes at half-time The decision to play Velupillay and Leckie was pragmatic. Set a deep block and let the USA attack. It did not pay off in the first half. The Socceroos couldn't hold possession, and found themselves under immense pressure in their defensive half. Not surprisingly, Popovic rang the changes for the second half. Türkiye heroes Metcalfe and Irankunda came on alongside Jason Geria. If Popovic got the big calls right with his team selection against Türkiye, this could have been a sign he got it wrong. The US were so dominant in the first half, he had to do something. The fourth sub also proved a dynamic one, as Cristian Volpato came on for the injured Leckie. Volpato, who had made a very late decision before the World Cup to change allegiances from Italy to Australia, looked immediately dangerous on the ball, doing his chances of starting against Paraguay no harm. 5. Stop the game, the ref is down! In stoppage time, the game had to stop when referee Felix Zwayer went down with cramp. One of the assistant referees ran out to give him a shot of the magic juice and while the 45-year-old German needed help stretching, he was fine to see the game out. Perhaps a couple more hydration breaks were required.