USA seize control of Group D as Australia pay for slow start
Alex Freeman scored USA's second goal agaisnt Australia. Pic: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
Paris Hilton building the hype, Blackhawk and Apache helicopters delivering jingoistic patriotism from above, Mauricio Pochettino’s young Yanks searing and slicing into limited opposition. Friday’s matinee at America’s World Cup had a little bit of everything, if it’s your thing.
For the vast majority of the 66,925 packed low and high into Seattle Stadium, it was very much their thing. Bar a bank of Australian yellow behind the southern goal and another high up in one corner, this was all very good midday fun. Group D is very much in the Americans’ grasp and they did it without their talisman.
The first World Cup co-hosted by a trio of nations has found all three suddenly in fine fettle. Between them, USA, Mexico and Canada have won five and drawn one so far, the goal difference skewing 16-2. Bigger tests await all.
Pochettino’s side fell off dramatically after the break, the final half-hour was all Australian pressure but not enough penetration. Had they got one it could have been a compelling finale. The sense that American exceptionalism may still be a watery enough thing wasn’t dispelled. They may be truly tested when an opposition manager gets it right from the start.
Tony Popovic does peculiar things, often resulting in peculiar outcomes. Last weekend in Vancouver he dropped his captain Maty Ryan and installed A League goalkeeper Patrick Beach, two caps to his name, as his World Cup starter. Midfield staple Jackson Irvine was also dropped for the opener. Popovic’s young side duly shone a harsh light on dark horses Turkey and won 2-0.
Here he stayed unpredictable, dropping Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe — who’d scored the goals against Turkey — to the bench. The 5-4-1 set-up, wrapped out from giant centre back Harry Souttar sent the Australian message: this would be about defence.
According to those in power here, America no longer has a Department of Defence but a Department of War. You imagine it’s a place where lots of things get started but never quite finished. Four of its finest wartime weapons completed a low flyover of the stadium in the minutes before kickoff. Seattle is supposed to be a bastion of liberalism. Watching how the sight of these four attack helicopters brought a rush of energy and life into the Americans in the stands was quite the thing to witness. Even Popovic would have found it all peculiar.
The American assault began quickly. Pochettino was deprived of Christian Pulisic but still had plenty of pace and energy to deploy. It had proved far too much for Paraguay in America’s opener and the Australians struggled from the off too. Sergino Dest buzzed in and out of the right wing, Tyler Adams and Malik Tillman zipped passes forward with urgency and Folarin Balogun was finding holes across the Australian five.
While the opener arrived after just 11 minutes it felt like we’d been waiting for it. After a brace against Paraguay, Balogun had the look of a man alive. He was sent scampering down the left and took a direct line towards goal, pulling back a low ball which befuddled Cameron Burgess’s big feet. The US became the first team in World Cup history to be gifted own goals in consecutive matches. Hosts with the most.
Australia flashed a rare warning soon after when Mathew Leckie whistled one wide but otherwise the traffic was north to south towards the Australian goal. Dest was in destroyer mode, Antonee Robinson doing likewise on the left and Pochettino’s system, flipping from 4-2-3-1 to mostly 3-5-2 in possession, worked impressively. Pace and precision was again getting the far. How far remains to be seen?
Alex Freeman believed he’d bundled in a second when following up Weston McKennie’s piledriver on 43 minutes. A flag denied him but a lengthy VAR intervention restored the goal and he wheeled off to celebrate. Americans got loud again with myriad versions of USA chants.
Popovic belatedly realised he’d been much too pragmatic and Irankunda and Metcalfe were among three half-time changes. The Australians lifted it, Metcalfe giving them the outlet they’d badly lacked and Paul Okon-Engstler finding his way into the middle too. When Irankunda scorched past 38-year-old Tim Ream it was a reminder of glaring American weaknesses yet to be exploited.
In his navy safari loungewear, Pochettino looked eager to see more of the first-half pace but Australia were finishing the stronger, all of the action back down the end where that big bank of gold and green baked in the sun but never quietened. German referee Felix Zwayer was giving them nothing which only raised the volume. An almighty scramble with six minutes to go came and went.
The game ended with Zwayer cramping up, a niggly affair taking its toll on the ref. Americans stood and serenaded the final seconds, a few more renditions of USA before they headed off into the weekend. They’d better pace themselves. More tests to come. Tougher ones too.
Freese 7; Freeman 7, Richards 7, Ream 7; Dest 8, Adams 7, Tillman 7, McKennie 6, Robinson 7; Pepi 6, Balogun 7.
Berhalter for Pepi (74), Trusty for Robinson (80), Scally for Dest (80), Reyna for McKennie (90+6), Wright for Balogun (90+6) Goals: Burgess OG (11); Freeman (43)
Beach 6; Bos 6, Burgess 4, Souttar 6, Circati 5, Italiano 5; Velupillay 4, Okon-Engstler 5, O’Neill 5, Leckie 4; Toure 4
Irankunda for Toure (HT), Geria for Burgess (HT), Metcalfe for Velupillay (HT), Volpato for Leckie (61), Irvine for Okon-Engstler (78).
Felix Zwayer (GER)
66,925
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