What to expect as the USA take on Australia in their vital Group D World Cup fixture

With a packed-out Seattle Stadium in full voice, home advantage will almost certainly benefit the co-hosts (it will be their 20th consecutive match on home soil), though the Socceroos, who have won three of their last four WC games, would surely like nothing better than the sound of silence if they were to spring an upset.

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USA haven't won two successive WC games since 1930

Their dispatch of Turkey in their first match of the tournament will buoy Tony Popovic's side.

They had just 30% possession but were brilliant on the counter-attack, whilst the four goals that Mauricio Pochettino's team plundered against a hapless Paraguay will also see them full of confidence for the task ahead.

Not since 1930 have the USA managed two consecutive World Cup wins, so history is certainly against them, even though they did post a 2-1 friendly win over Australia recently.

In Folarin Balogun, the US have a player who appears to have peaked at precisely the right time, too. Against Paraguay, he not only scored a brace but was a constant threat throughout.

Alongside Christian Pulisic and Sergino Dest, the US have a three-pronged attack that has pace, power and trickery in abundance, though the former could be ruled out with a calf problem that saw him subbed off in the Paraguay win.

Is Pulisic going to be risked?

Pulisic did only play a small part in the friendly against Australia in October, too, after being forced to leave the pitch midway through the first half, some might say because of an over-exuberance in the tackle from the Socceroos.

Even if the US front men can be contained, the raiding down the channels from full-backs Antonee Robinson and Alex Freeman should also cause Australia problems.

For the Socceroos, they're likely to rely on the talents of Nestory Irankunda to help them to victory. He was excellent against the US in October, consistently getting in behind their defence, and if the youngster were to score again, he'd become the first player under 21 since Memphis Depay in 2014 to score in his opening two World Cup appearances.

In terms of current form, the co-hosts have won three and lost three of their last six in all competitions, scoring 15 but conceding 13, indicating that Pochettino still has work to do in order to get the best out of his squad.

Goals to be expected

It's perhaps no surprise, given that sort of form, that in eight of the US's last nine matches, both teams have scored, with seven of their last eight games seeing at least 2.5 goals.

11 of those 15 scored came before half-time, too, and the Socceroos are well aware of what to expect as soon as the whistle blows at Seattle Stadium.

"We know that they're going to start sharp, start fast, just like they did in their opening game," Australia and Leicester City midfielder, Harry Souttar, noted in his pre-match press conference.

"So, we've got to match that. When we have the ball, we've just got to keep it, try and open them up, try and play to our strengths."

Ryan to return at Beach's expense?

Australia have won three, drawn one and lost two of their last six, scoring nine and conceding six, so they too need to shore up defensively.

What will be interesting to see is whether Popovic continues with his third-choice goalkeeper, Patrick Beach, in this one, because of just how unbeatable he was in his side's opener, or brings captain Mathew Ryan back into the fold for the Socceroos most important game in a while.

Aiden O'Neil and Mo Toure will both face late fitness tests to determine their availability, and should this game come too quickly for the pair, it's very much advantage USA.

That's because Australia have particularly relied on Toure's pace up front to give them an outlet when under pressure, as they did against Turkey, and so without it, they could find it difficult to get in behind the US defence.

Of course, if the recent friendly between the two sides can be considered as a guide to what might happen here, coupled with what's at stake, we could even expect a real war of attrition to evolve across the 90+ minutes.

Should that precise situation occur, expect sparks to fly.

Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.