The United States men’s national soccer team became one of the first nations to book a place in the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a convincing 2-0 victory over Australia men’s national soccer team on Friday.

The win, coupled with Paraguay’s 1-0 triumph over Turkey, secured top spot in Group D for the tournament hosts and guaranteed their progression with a match to spare.

Roared on by a packed crowd at Lumen Field, the Americans delivered another composed performance despite missing injured captain Christian Pulisic, who was sidelined by a calf problem.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino reshaped his attack by adopting a 4-4-2 formation, pairing Ricardo Pepi with Folarin Balogun up front.

The breakthrough arrived in the 11th minute when Balogun surged down the left wing and delivered a low cross into the box. Under pressure from Pepi, Australian defender Cameron Burgess inadvertently diverted the ball into his own net.

Australia, who surprisingly left out the goalscorers from their opening win over Turkey, struggled to create clear opportunities as the United States controlled possession and dictated the tempo.

The hosts doubled their advantage just before halftime through Alex Freeman. A well-worked free-kick routine ended with Sergino Dest seeing his effort blocked, but the rebound looped into the air for Freeman to head home. Australia emerged with greater urgency after the break following a triple substitution that included Connor Metcalfe and Nestory Irankunda.

The Socceroos’ best chance arrived in the 62nd minute when Cristian Volpato fired over from close range after being picked out by Irankunda. Australia continued to press late on, with Metcalfe testing the goalkeeper and Jason Geria seeing a close-range effort blocked, but the United States held firm to preserve a clean sheet.

In the group’s other fixture, Paraguay national football team defeated Turkey national football team 1-0 despite playing much of the match with 10 men.

Matias Galarza scored the winner after just two minutes with a powerful low strike from outside the area. Paraguay later had Miguel Almiron sent off, while Turkey’s early exit was confirmed after failing to score despite registering 62 shots across two matches.

The result leaves the United States comfortably atop Group D ahead of their final group-stage encounter with Turkey next week.

With two wins from two matches and strong support from home fans, belief is growing that the Americans could produce their best World Cup performance since reaching the quarter-finals in 2002.