Soccer News

Home

Teams

Leagues

Quizzes

Newsletter

USA vs. Australia: Three factors that could decide the USMNT's next World Cup clash

United States defender Antonee Robinson. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Add us as a preferred source on Google

USA vs. Australia: Three factors that could decide the USMNT's next World Cup clash

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated Jun 18, 2026 6:12 PM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The U.S. Men's National Team will continue its World Cup journey on Friday, June 19 against Australia in Seattle, Washington.

Both teams enter this match with three World Cup points to their name: The USMNT beat Paraguay 4-1 in its opener in Inglewood, while Australia beat Turkiye 2-0 in its opener in Vancouver.

The USMNT and Australia have seen plenty of each other in recent months. They faced off in a friendly in Commerce City, Colorado, last October; the USMNT wound up winning that match 2-1 thanks to a brace from striker Haji Wright, but it lost attacker Christian Pulisic early in the first half after he fell victim to a heavy tackle from Australia defender Jason Geria.

Both teams have evolved considerably from that cold autumn night in Colorado. "I expect a very good Australian side," said USMNT winger Tim Weah. "We know they can be aggressive, they have some quality, so hopefully it'll be an amazing game to watch for you guys and an amazing game to play."

Here are three factors that could define the USMNT's all-important World Cup clash with the Socceroos.

Expecting the unexpected

The USMNT is in an interesting place with Australia. On one hand, it knows Australia well from the fixture the two played last fall; on the other, Australia has changed its lineup and formation since that clash. The USMNT can't simply rely on memory for this one; it has to meet Australia where it is.

"Speaking to the boys who played in October as well, the game against Turkiye was completely different than how they played in the last camp," said USMNT defender Antonee Robinson of Australia. "It’s going to be a different challenge."

In October, Australia started veteran goalkeeper Mathew Ryan and leveraged attackers Mo Toure and Nestory Irankunda as late-game substitutions; against Turkiye, it started untested young goalkeeper Patrick Beach and played Toure and Irankunda from the start. All three played a lights-out fixture to seal Australia's win...and all three were still functionally unknown to the USMNT after their game last fall.

@foxsoccer Nestory Irankunda sends the Aussies into a FRENZY #aussies #australiavsturkiye #FIFAWorldCup #GOAL ♬ original sound - FOXSoccer

Exploiting Australia's central midfielders

Australia thrived against Turkiye thanks to its low block: It allowed Turkiye to have the ball for a whopping 63% of the fixture, confident that the Turks wouldn't be able to play through its line of defenders. That approach worked wonders — and it hid two very real weaknesses within the Australian lineup, too.

For all its defensive grit, Australia is incredibly weak in the center of the park. Its midfield lineup of NYCFC's Aiden O'Neill, Sydney FC's Paul Okon-Engstler and St. Pauli's Connor Metcalfe isn't exactly world-class when it comes to playing the ball. (Metcalfe, for context, spent much of this season benched at St. Pauli in favor of USMNT reject James Sands.) If the USMNT takes the opposite approach to Turkiye and forces Australia to keep possession, there's a very good chance that O'Neill, Okon-Engstler and Metcalfe will find themselves lacking against Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman and Weston McKennie. That should give the USMNT transition moments in the center of the park that Turkiye never quite managed to find.

Being mindful of pace on the break

Australia scored its two goals against Turkiye by breaking out of its low block and launching quick counter-attacks while Turkiye was out of position. It's easy to see it trying a similar approach against the USMNT — especially with 38-year-old Tim Ream holding down the fort on the left side of the USMNT's defense. (Ream remains incredible, but he's unlikely to be able to keep up with pacy Irankunda.)

That puts extra pressure on left back Antonee Robinson, who will no doubt be called into action to help Ream in moments of transition. And how will he do it? "Just making sure we’re balanced," Robinson said in training before the Australia match. "Making sure we’re proactive in case we give the ball away that we’re ready to quickly react and be in a good position where the counter attack isn’t as much of a problem."

The USMNT will take on Australia on Friday, June 19 in Seattle, Washington.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

More must-reads: