World Cup 2026 Friday takeaways: USMNT impresses again; Brazil dominates

The 2026 FIFA World Cup continued on Friday with more group play, and it was another big win for the United States as they advanced into the knockout round. Meanwhile, Brazil flexed its muscles against Haiti with a dominant showing in Philadelphia to secure its first win of the tournament.

Here are some takeaways from Friday's action.

United States with another strong showing

The results and the scoreboard speak for themselves for the U.S. through two games.

They have outscored their opponents by a 6-1 margin, including Friday's 2-0 win over Australia.

They have already advanced through to the knockout stage. 

They won Friday's game despite playing without Christian Pulisic.

But even more than all of that is just the fact that the vibe around the team and the way it is playing feels completely different than past U.S. World Cup teams.

Say what you want about the quality of competition in the group, but it is far from the weakest group in the field, and there is definitely solid competition. While there is no truly great team with them, there haven't really been any pushovers, either. The U.S. has not only collected six out of a possible six points to start, but it has also mostly pushed the play. There is an aggressiveness and crispness that has not previously existed.

It is a testament not only to the talent and depth on the roster and how much better it's become, but also to the way manager Mauricio Pochettino has them prepared and playing.

Scotland runs out of time

Morocco scored in the second minute to take a 1-0 lead against Scotland, and held on to that for the remainder of the match.

Ismael Saibari's early goal proved to be all Morocco needed.