They did it! The USMNT (United States Men's National Team) has won back-to-back contests in its first two matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with a victory on Friday handing the Aussies' Socceroos team a giant goose egg, 2-0, in Seattle. And even more dramatically, they did it without star forward Christian Pulisic.
The U.S. national soccer team advanced to the knockout round at the World Cup despite the absence of injured forward Christian Pulisic, beating Australia 2-0 on Friday.
...
Alex Freeman, the youngest player on the [U.S.] team at 21 and son of Super Bowl champion Antonio Freeman, gave the Americans a 2-0 lead in the 43rd minute off a set piece. Freeman headed in a deflected shot by Sergiño Dest for his first career World Cup goal. The goal was confirmed after a video review.
The U.S. took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute after a run down the left sideline by Folarin Balogun, who scored two goals in the 4-1 victory over Paraguay on June 12.
Balogun directed a centering pass towards striker Ricardo Pepi, who started in place of Pulisic. The ball never reached Pepi, deflecting off Australia defender Cameron Burgess and into the Socceroos’ net for an own-goal.
The national anthem plays at Seattle Stadium 🇺🇸
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2026
Today marks the first-ever FIFA World Cup match in Seattle for the @USMNT pic.twitter.com/BgLRFsUKHr
And in case you missed RedState's coverage of the World Cup excitement for the U.S. team up to this point, here's a quick catch-up.
GEM OF A WIN IN EMERALD CITY! pic.twitter.com/3i3HspeWis
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 19, 2026
As Nick Arama wrote about the Game 1 win, the world was put on notice that the Americans have "an emphatic winning force," notching an unimpeachable, 4-1 win over Group D foe, Paraguay, seven days ago inside a rocking SoFi Stadium in L.A.
Read More: Hot Takes: Republicans Root on the US Men's National Soccer Team Ahead of World Cup Start
US Men's Team's First Game in World Cup 2026 Delivers Patriotism, and One Heck of a Win
The Athletic, having a little fun during its preview of the big match this week (in its comprehensive sports newsletter), cheekily spelled out the team's acronym, USMNT, as U.S. Mutant Ninja Turtles.
It's all part of the fun - and what's more fun than winning bigtime on the world stage?
We're watching sports history being made:
It's been 96 years since the U.S. won consecutive games at a World Cup 🤯 pic.twitter.com/bwU5CJlriG
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 19, 2026
Team USA is through to the knockout stage.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 19, 2026
The United States secured its place in the next round of the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle on Friday, improving to 2-0 through its first two matches of the tournament.
The Americans have now clinched… pic.twitter.com/WvGlScQURU
Team USA is through to the knockout stage.
The United States secured its place in the next round of the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle on Friday, improving to 2-0 through its first two matches of the tournament.
The Americans have now clinched advancement with a game still left to play in the group stage.
It's the first time since the inaugural World Cup in 1930 that the United States has won back-to-back World Cup games.
What's this mean in layman's terms? Now we need to watch for the results of Paraguay vs.Türkiye, to learn how tough the next opponent will be for the USMNT:
The USMNT can win their group if Türkiye don't beat Paraguay.
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 19, 2026
They would face a third-place team in San Francisco 😎 pic.twitter.com/KKgMZjYQMe
U.S. fans in Seattle let the Australians know how things would go with a funny sign:
A USA fan holding a "VEGEMITE FREE ZONE" sign during the USA vs. Australia FIFA World Cup match. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/aOcbOmJ5gZ
— World Cup 2026 (@ofootball__) June 19, 2026
There were some fans from the Trump administration in attendance, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Energy Sec. Chris Wright, rooting on Team USA:
Honored to join fans from around the world at today’s FIFA match in Seattle with @SecretaryWright. Sports unite people across cultures and borders, inspire teamwork and healthy competition, and strengthen communities.
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 19, 2026
Go @USMNT! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/3etpykBDKn
With the mid-day match taking place during a weekday, many Americans might have missed seeing it. So here's the winning moment.
Watch:
What a match for the @USMNT to advance to the Round of 32 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TJZYVyClSy
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2026
Warning, this next clip is total Goosbumps City - I dare you to try not to sing along to this all-American "anthem" by John Denver:
ABSOLUTE GOOSEBUMPS AS THE ENTIRE STADIUM SINGS 'TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS' WITH THE USMNT PLAYERS AFTER THE WIN AGAINST AUSTRALIA
— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) June 19, 2026
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/ATj4OHcEE6
USA! USA! USA!
[Editor's Note: this article was edited for clarity post-publication.]
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