It's a top of the table clash in Group D of the 2026 FIFA World Cup when the United States men's national team takes on Australia at the Lumen Field in Seattle on Friday.
Mauricio Pochettino's side were at their dominant best in their World Cup opener, as the USA romped to a 4-1 win against Paraguay to take charge of Group D.
Australia gave Tony Popovic plenty of nervous moments, but still managed to pull of a shock 2-0 win over Türkiye in their World Cup opener.
Both teams are in the driving seat to qualify for the knockouts, and a win here would seal qualification. The two sides have met thrice in the past (USA 2 wins, Australia 1 win) but have never met in the World Cup.
Here's everything you need to know about Friday's game.
How to watch:
The match will be available on BBC One in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Friday June 19, 3 p.m.
UK BST: Friday June 19, 8 p.m.
India IST: Saturday June 20, 12.30 a.m.
Australia AEST: Saturday June 20, 5 a.m.
Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle, USA
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)
Team News
United States
Christian Pulisic limped off in the victory over Paraguay, but recent reports indicate that he will be fit to feature in this game.
Predicted XI: (4-1-2-3)
GK: Matt Freese
LB: Antonee Robinson | CB: Tim Ream | CB: Chris Richards | RB: Alex Freeman
CDM: Tyler Adams
CAM: Weston McKennie | CAM: Malik Tillman
LW: Christian Pulisic | CF: Folarin Balogun | RW: Sergiño Dest
Australia
Socceroo forward Mohamed Toure came off in the win over Türkiye with some cramps, with concerns over his calf muscle, but reports indicate he ought to be fit for this game.
Predicted XI: (5-4-1)
GK: Patrick Beach
LB: Jordan Bos | CB: Cameron Burgess | CB: Harry Souttar | CB: Alessandro Circati | RB: Jacob Italiano
LM: Nestory Irankunda | CM: Paul Okon-Engstler | CM: Aiden O'Neill | RM: Connor Metcalfe
ST: Mohamed Toure
Talking Points
Will Pochettino continue to go full-tilt with the USA?
The 4-1 victory over Paraguay was the USA's largest winning margin in the World Cup, but the manner of the victory also raised hopes from an expectant public.
Pochettino's side swarmed all over Paraguay, in a display that left the South Americans with little room to breathe. In Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Mail Tillman, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna, the USA boast of some brilliant attacking talents that can trouble any defence.
Yet, the high-energy style of play that Pochettino employs can have its drawbacks, as was evidenced by Pulisic leaving the field injured. This is a long World Cup, and if the USA are to go deep in this competition as is expected of them, they will have to manage their style of play.
They will find transitions hard to come by against Australia, and the high-intensity press might work against them.
Australia ought to stick with what worked against Türkiye
Popovic's side faced 30 shots against Türkiye, but still came up trumps -- a feat no other team has done in 20 years at the World Cup. Delving deeper into those 30 shots however, Türkiye only managed 1.36 xG from it, so perhaps Australia were right to let keeper Beach face the music from range as he saved a record 8 shots.
It was a big call from the Australian head coach, leaving out the experience and leadership of Matthew Ryan and Jackson Irvine as he named the youngest-ever Socceroos starting XI at the World Cup. The USA claim they will not suffer from the same overconfidence that Türkiye did, but Popovic will eye the fact that their opponents have not kept a clean sheet in their last nine matches.
With Harry Souttar leading the way in defence, the same low block ought to work against the USMNT, which will also play to the strengths of Nestory Irankunda on the counter-attack. At the very least, even a draw would be a good result for Australia against the hosts, and ought to be enough to seal progress into the knockout stages.
It will be Refugee Day in Australia when the game ends, and a positive result will be the best reward for this diverse Australian squad.