The U.S. men’s national team has already won its group after a 2-0 victory over Australia, setting up a June 25 group-stage finale against Turkey in Los Angeles. With Christian Pulisic sidelined by a calf injury, coach Mauricio Pochettino has leaned on a fresh
For the second straight match, the U.S. men’s national team didn’t just win—it looked like it belonged. After finishing the group phase early with a 2-0 victory over Australia on Friday. the Americans are already set for the knockout round. and their next match is a final group-stage test against Turkey in Los Angeles.
The shift has been sudden enough to feel unreal to some of the players. Goals have come with an aggressive, inventive edge, with stadium crowds in the U.S. shaking behind the team at every turn. The optimism is spreading, and fast.
“I don’t think it’s ridiculous to say that we want to win it,” U.S. defender Chris Richards said after the win over Australia. “We want to lift a trophy by the end of this.”
Striker Folarin Balogun. who scored twice in the opener against Paraguay. said he and his teammates had never really expected the path to knockouts to be this direct. “You know. (if) someone said before the tournament ‘Two games and you’re through to the knockouts. ’ I think we all would have took it. ” Balogun said. “We’re delighted.”.
There’s a simple scoreboard reality behind the excitement: the U.S. has won consecutive World Cup matches for the first time since 1930. In the first two matches. the team has scored six goals—one short of the team record for a World Cup. And while the pressure will rise soon enough. the Americans have earned a strange kind of freedom: their group is already decided.
That freedom is tied to the way coach Mauricio Pochettino has set the tone. An Argentine who had been known primarily for European club stints with Tottenham. Chelsea and Paris Saint-German. Pochettino had never coached a national team before he was hired by the U.S. in 2024 with an eye on this year’s World Cup.
As a co-host, the U.S. was an automatic qualifier for the tournament. giving Pochettino more time to experiment and craft a lineup for the team he wanted. Earlier this month, he said the U.S. does not have any players that rank among the top 100 in the world—but the lineup he has put on the field in the first two matches has looked sharp enough to challenge that assessment.
Players credit him not only for tactics, but for a tougher, more resilient mindset. After the win over Australia, Pochettino said he could feel the home support reverberating throughout the stadium in Seattle.
“Today, even if I’m not American, after the game I was emotional,” Pochettino said. “It was an amazing and perfect connection between the energy from the stands and the team. This makes us feel very proud.”
That atmosphere will matter even more as the tournament tightens. It also matters now because Pulisic’s absence has changed the picture in a way the U.S. can’t afford to ignore.
Christian Pulisic. who plays for AC Milan and is considered the United States’ best player. missed the match against Australia because of a calf injury. With Pulisic out, Pochettino started striker Ricardo Pepi. Pepi then combined with Balogun on the run that created the first goal in the 11th minute.
Alex Freeman, who scored the second goal against Australia, said the U.S. used the moment to show what’s underneath the star. “We know how vital Christian is to the team and how much he can contribute in the game,” Freeman said. “For us it was, we have Ricardo Pepi, who came in and had an amazing game. I think that just shows how (good) our roster is.”.
Even with that depth on display, the U.S. still needs Pulisic as it moves deeper—his kind of steady hand and creative playmaking tends to separate good teams from great ones. Pulisic has scored 33 goals in 87 international appearances. including the game winner against Iran in the 2022 World Cup that sent the U.S. to the round of 16.
The U.S. also has something few teams can manufacture: a history of playing in front of home crowds—and a reminder that the moment can carry an underdog farther than expected. The Americans are co-hosts of the tournament with Canada and Mexico.
Since 1930, the host nation has won the World Cup six times, most recently France in 1998. Mexico, when hosting in 1970 and 1986, reached the quarterfinals both times. In 2002, co-host South Korea reached the semifinals, and host Russia reached the quarterfinals in 2018.
The U.S. finished third in the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. Its best finish in the modern era of soccer was the quarterfinals in 2002.
When the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994, the team played in front of huge crowds and slugged its way through the group stage before being eliminated by Brazil. Back then, just reaching the knockout round was the goal and a major achievement for a group of players that punched above their weight.
Now, expectations are higher—and growing with every goal.
Pepi put it plainly after the win over Australia: “I think people can see what we’re capable of as a team.”
The group is already handled. The next match against Turkey on June 25 in Los Angeles is the last step before the tournament pressure turns from background noise into something sharper. For a team that didn’t seem ready for this kind of start, the question is no longer whether the U.S. can compete.
It’s how far it will go.
U.S. men's national team World Cup Australia Turkey Mauricio Pochettino Christian Pulisic Chris Richards Folarin Balogun Ricardo Pepi Alex Freeman June 25