Freeman, 21 and the youngest player in the squad, then delivered the moment of the night. Sergiño Dest whipped in a cross in the 43rd minute and Freeman got above his man to head it home — his first World Cup goal, confirmed after a brief VAR check. Pochettino called his squad 'amazing' afterward and compared the Seattle atmosphere to Argentina. The USA handled their business cleanly, and that's all you can ask.
Australia set up in a compact 5-4-1, looking to absorb pressure and hit on the counter. It lasted about 11 minutes. Once Burgess put it in his own net, the Socceroos were chasing the match against a team happy to sit back and control tempo. They couldn't find the gaps, couldn't string sequences together, and Matt Freese barely had a save to make.
The Australian bench threw 3 changes into the second half before it even started — a sign of how little went right in the first 45. It didn't change much. The Socceroos finished with 4 yellow cards on the night, picking them up in frustration as the clock wound down. They're still alive and well-positioned to advance, but this was not a performance to build confidence on heading into their final group match.
We backed the USA on the moneyline and it wasn't close — the bull case landed exactly as written. The USA were the class of Group D, handled Australia on home soil, and never looked troubled after Balogun forced the own goal inside 11 minutes. Back-to-back wins in group play, job done.
The market now has the USA as near-certain Group D winners. Australia's odds of advancing to the Round of 32 sit at 89.5% — they should still get through — but their path to the Round of 16 is a different question at just 36.5%. They'll need a strong result in their final match. The USA, meanwhile, enter their last group game already knowing they're through and can rotate freely.
Belgium1-4
Bosnia and Herzegovina2-0
Türkiye2-3
Australia2-0
Paraguay4-1
Egypt1-1Paraguay0-0United States0-2Türkiye2-0