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Advancing to the knockout stage at the World Cup with a two to nothing win over Australia in Seattle. The Americans did get off to a fast start in the 11th minute. It ended up being an own goal, but that still counts. The US doubled its lead in the 43rd minute with Alex Freeman heading home the rebound on a blocked shot. It was initially ruled offsides. VAR ended up overturning that call. Americans now await the result of tonight's game between Paraguay and Turkey. If Paraguay wins or draws, the US will win its group, Group D. Let's welcome in Adam Hunt to talk about what we saw this afternoon from the United States men's team. Adam, initial takeaways from what was a very feisty match, if you will.
Yes, certainly, you can say that again, Amanda. Feisty, particularly in the second half, towards the end of the game. Let's compare it to what we saw in the first game for the US against Paraguay. Not quite as free-flowing, but still so much good work, and I think the fans, it was a wonderful atmosphere in Seattle, will have really enjoyed what they saw, both inside the stadium and those watching on TV, as well. That first half was brilliant. They got off to a good start. Obviously, there was the own goal. You had Alex Freeman getting his goal, too, only his third international goal. And I think what we saw from the US was contributions from some of the other players that maybe didn't shine quite as
much in the first game against Paraguay. Obviously, the big news prior to kickoff was the fact that Christian Pulisic wasn't even going to be on the bench. He wasn't involved at all, not even as a substitute. So, it's Ricardo Pepi who got the nod in place of him. And I thought he looked lively and proved himself to be more than a capable replacement for Pulisic. But, as you mentioned, the second half, the game became very stop-start, almost aggressive, I think, is probably a good way to describe it. There were some heavy challenges for the from the Aussies coming in. And that was something that the US had to deal with. And I think Mauricio Pochettino will be very happy that there were no more injuries uh picked up to any of his key players
um from the game, and they can move on to the final group game against Turkey um with just that injury issue for Christian Pulisic. And with a 2-0 victory, I thought it was a very good afternoon. Yeah, we saw multiple yellow cards being handed out at once toward the very end of the game. Uh so, talk to us. Look, you mentioned Ricardo Pepi coming in place of Christian Pulisic, and they go ahead and get the win. What is your concern though moving forward if he's not able to go in the next game? What do you know about the injury and why he wasn't able to play today and potentially moving forward?
Well, I wasn't actually that surprised. I think some people were, but I wasn't too surprised that he wasn't involved today because the injury that he's got um is something that has to be managed, and we've seen him training over the last few days up until yesterday. He had some kind of black strapping on his leg. Um and he was training alone away from the group, and normally when you see a player doing that, that means that they're not that close to being able to return. So, I wasn't too surprised that he wasn't involved. And I'm not sure if he'll play a role in the third game because now that the US have qualified themselves, obviously we'll have to wait and see what happens in the game later,
but they could be, as you said, confirmed as the group winners without even needing to play that uh final game against Turkey. And I think there's two things for Pochettino to think about going into that game. Folarin Balogun did get a yellow card um for some rough and tumble with the Australian uh defender toward the end of the game, and that means that he's sitting on a yellow card. So, if he gets another one, he could then uh potentially have to miss a game into the knockout stages. Whereas, if he doesn't play, the yellow cards reset. So, I wonder if we'll see Balogun uh playing or how much of a role he'll play in that final game against Turkey. And also whether um Pochettino will risk
uh Pulisic in that game or whether he'll think, "Okay, maybe it's better um to give him a few more days of rest and recovery and training, um, to then be ready for the tougher test that are there to come in the knockout stages. Talk to us, uh, as mentioned, look, there's a multiple ways that the United States could go ahead and win this group. It was a little bit more favorable than some other groups, but what would it mean, uh, for the team, but just also for fans to see this team doing well and off to a good start in this tournament and with hopes of continuing to advance? Oh, hugely, and I think that is such a huge factor, um, in this World Cup for the host nations. We've seen it uh, impact Canada in their performance
yesterday, Mexico with their two wins so far, and clearly the US. These co-host nations are being spurred on by the wonderful atmosphere inside the stadium, and sort of the goodwill from football fans all over the country, um, and I do think that if they can just get through, um, into the knockout stages, win the group, continue this great momentum that they've built up over the two games so far. Remember, the US has never six goals in the first two games of a World Cup. This is the most number of goals that they've scored. So, this, by any measure, is their best start to a World Cup ever, and to do it in front of your home fans must feel even more special, uh, for these players. We
saw how they celebrated the first goal, um, and it's just been a brilliant atmosphere so far. It's been lovely for me as well to be able to watch and cover it, um, from the sidelines, um, and I think that they just really need to use that crowd advantage. It is the 12th man. I know it's a cliche, um, but I think that could, uh, potentially help the US in games later on in the tournament when it starts to get more difficult in the round of 16 and as you pull, uh, further than that, they're going to have to be on their A game. The players are doing it, and they've got the if they've got the crowd driving them on, too, that's going to be an extra factor.
Every single host city has been absolutely phenomenal to watch. It's my favorite thing. Uh, I had friends who took off today to watch the game. Thankfully, we work in sports, we're able to watch it for a living. Adam, we appreciate your time as you continue to cover the World Cup taking a look at the Group D table. The United States winning today versus Australia. Again, they could potentially win tonight uh if Paraguay finishes with a win or a draw.
