USA vs. Australia: World Cup Preview & Lineup Predictions

Charlie Zschau Updated: 1 hour ago

The United States continue their 2026 World Cup campaign in Seattle on Friday afternoon, taking on Australia.

The United States Men's National Team have high hopes for the 2026 World Cup heading into their second match of the tournament against Australia.

The USMNT dominated their opening match against Paraguay, winning 4-1 in Los Angeles last Friday. Folarin Balogun scored a first-half brace after Damian Bobadilla scored an own goal to open the scoring.

The Americans carved up the Paraguayan defense throughout the match, taking 53 total touches in the opponent's box. They did sit deeper in the second half with a focus on seeing out the win, but still dominated the play.

Mauricio pulled a goal back for the South American side, but substitute Giovani Reyna reestablished the three-goal advantage just before the final whistle.

The win is a dream start for the Americans, who could all but guarantee a spot in the knockout stages with a point against Australia. The same will be true for Australia, who defeated Turkiye 2-0 in their opening match.

Turkiye were heavy favorites to beat Australia, but the Socceroos played elite defense enroute to the clean sheet. Australia's goalkeeper Patrick Beach made eight saves on 30 Turkish shots. Twelve other attempts were blocked by the Socceroos before they could even reach Beach in net.

Wingers Connor Metcalfe and Nestory Irankunda were the two players to get on the scoresheet for the Socceroos.

The USA will surely have a much harder time breaking down Australia's defence compared to Paraguay's. Folarin Balogun will have less space in the attacking third against the back-five of Australia, so Malik Tillman and Christian Pulisic will be tasked with creating the opportunities in tight spaces.

Australia will sit back defensively, but the Americans need to be wary of Irankunda and Mohamed Toure on the counter attack. 38-year-old American captain Tim Ream lacks pace compared to these two Socceroo forwards, so Chris Richards, Alex Freeman and Antonee Robinson will need to track back to cover for their captain.

USA vs. Australia Start Time, Date & location

The USA will host Australia at the Seattle Stadium on Friday, June 19.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM ET (2:00 PM CT / 1:00 PM MT / 12:00 PM PT).

USA's Starting Eleven Prediction

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino
Formation: 4-2-3-1

		ST Folarin Balogun

LM Christian Pulisic		CAM Malik Tillman		RM Sergino Dest

	CM Tyler Adams		CM Weston McKennie

LB Antonee Robinson				RB Alex Freeman
	CB Tim Ream		CB Chris Richards
		GK Matt Freese

Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun seemed to pick up minor injuries against Paraguay, but both players are expected to fit against Australia. Mauricio Pochettino has not been too concerned for either player, meaning that they'll both likely start vs. Australia.

If Balogun is not fit, expect Ricardo Pepi to slot in as the starting striker. Reyna or Tim Weah would likely deputise for Pulisic if necessary.

After a dominant first match performance, expect no changes from the starting eleven against Paraguay.

Australia's Starting Eleven Prediction

Manager: Tony Popovic
Formation: 5-4-1

			ST Mohamed Toure

LM Nestory Irankunda		CM Paul Okon-Engslter		CM Aidan O'Neill		RM Connor Metcalfe

LB Jordan Bos						RB Jacob Italiano
	CB Cameron Burgess		CB Harry Souttar		CB Alessandro Circati

		GK Patrick Beach