Day: June 19, 2026

SEATTLE STADIUM — No Christian Pulisic? No problem. With the U.S. men’s national team’s best attacking player on the bench because of a lingering calf injury, Mauricio Pochettino’s squad qualified for the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a game to spare. The Americans beat Australia, 2-0, in its second group stage match Friday in front of a raucous home crowd in what many consider the best soccer city in America. For the second time in as many games, the U.S. struck first on an own goal to take a lead it would never relinquish. Defender Alex Freeman added the backbreaking second goal just before halftime; his third career U.S. goal was confirmed following a lengthy video review that reversed the call on the field after the assistant referee had initially ruled that Freeman was offside. Down by two, the Aussies poured on the pressure in the second half. But while the U.S. bent, it didn’t break, with the home team securing its first shutout in 11 games — an encouraging sign for the tougher tests that await them in the weeks to come. “One clean sheet sounds great,” said U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese, who posted his first World Cup shutout in his second career game. “Two, three, four clean sheets sounds a lot better.” Here are four quick takeaways following Friday’s victory. 1. USA Makes History By Advancing For any World Cup participant, no matter how successful historically, the first goal is obvious: Survive and advance to the second, win-or-go-home round and then take things game by do-or-die game from there. Plenty of soccer’s elite teams have failed this test. Take Germany, which was eliminated in group play in each of the last two editions of soccer’s quadrennial showpiece after claiming its fourth title in 2014. (Only Brazil has more.) With Friday’s win, the USA is off to the business end of the World Cup for the fourth straight time. Sure, that doesn’t include 2018, when the U.S. failed to get to the tournament at all, snapping a streak that dated to 1990. But the U.S. made history on Friday by clinching a place in the last 32 early. Never before had the team’s fate been decided before the final contest of the opening round. “It was an extremely tough game, very physical,” striker Folarin Balogun said post-game. “This is a World Cup, so it’s expected for the passion to sometimes spill over. But I think we kept our cool. It was a really professional performance.” 2. Americans Create Their Own Luck — Again Getting the first goal in this game was always going to be hugely important for either team. And just like in their tournament opening 4-1 win over Paraguay last week, the visitors were dangerous early, pressuring U.S. center backs Tim Ream and Chris Richards with abandon. But the home team struck first again, thanks to another own goal, this time by Socceroos center back Cameron Burgess. The U.S. became the only team in the almost 100-year history of the competition to profit from own goals in consecutive World Cup games. “If I can force an error that gives us the lead, then it’s [like scoring] a goal,” said Balogun, whose attempted pass to Ricardo Pepi Burgess turned past his own keeper. “It was a special, special start to the game to give us the momentum. And then I think we carried it.” 3. Alex Freeman Makes His Mark Just more than a year ago, the soccer-playing son of Super Bowl winner and Green Bay Packers great Antonio Freeman had never made an appearance for the senior USA squad. But in his first season as a regular starter for Orlando City in MLS, the 6-foot-2 fullback caught the eye of U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino and his staff, became a starter for the national team and never looked back. He ended 2025 with his first two international goals in a World Cup tune-up win over two-time champion Uruguay and moved to Spanish power and UEFA Champions League mainstay Villarreal over the winter. On Friday, he shined bright on the biggest stage in sports, scoring the second American goal just before halftime. “I thought it was offside,” Freeman, still in uniform, said afterward. “When it took really long time [to review], I was very anxious to see whether it was a goal or not.” It was, giving him his first goal at a World Cup. 4. Take A Bow, Seattle In sports, as in life, reality surpasses fantasy. But for a city that had been waiting more than 50 years to host the U.S. at a World Cup — men’s or women’s — Friday’s game and the lead up to blew whatever lofty exceptions there were beforehand straight out of Puget Sound. This scene in Seattle was hard to describe. From Pike Place to Pioneer Square, the Emerald City was awash with USA jerseys from every era. There were also plenty of yellow Australia shirts to be seen around town and in the grandiose, almost 70,000-seat downtown arena, with visiting supporters taking up a huge area behind one of the goals and in a sprawling corner in the far reaches of the upper deck. The excitement they created was off the charts. And, as predicted by the U.S. players on the eve of the contest, the overwhelming pro-American crowd played a major role in willing the World Cup co-hosts to another unforgettable victory on home soil. “The atmosphere was incredible,” said Freese. “It’s one of those things you dream of. I’ve heard that the 12th man is what they call the crowd here. It was definitely a 12th man for us today.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Lamine Yamal is not feeling 100% fit and is not likely to start for Spain in the match against Saudi Arabia on Sunday at the World Cup. Yamal came into the tournament nursing a left hamstring injury and was only a substitute in the team’s opener on Monday — a disappointing 0-0 draw against Cape Verde. “I’m fine, I feel good, but it’s still too soon,” Yamal told Spanish network RTVE. “It’s unnecessary (to take risks). I’m going through an adaptation process, it’s not the time to play a full match yet. But I can play as many minutes as the coach wants.” The 18-year-old Yamal came off the bench in the 71st minute against Cape Verde but was not able to spark La Roja to victory against the nation of about half-million people that was making its debut at soccer’s showcase event. After facing Saudi Arabia on Sunday in Atlanta, Spain goes to Guadalajara to play Uruguay in the highlight match of Group H. The match may be decisive and having Yamal fully fit could be crucial for Spain. Yamal said teammate Nico Williams, who also arrived nursing an injury, was ahead of him in the recovery process. “Physically he’s even better than me,” Yamal said. “We’re not in a rush. We have a great team with top-level players and we have to go step by step.” Yamal arrived at the World Cup as one of the tournament’s biggest stars despite his young age. He has been thriving with Barcelona and Spain’s national team for a while, having helped La Roja win the European Championship in 2024. He led Barcelona to the Spanish league title this past season. His popularity in the United States has been evident at the World Cup. An advertisement with his image towers over Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where Spain kicked off its campaign. “I’m taking it naturally, it’s something I’m used to,” Yamal said about his popularity. “I know what I represent both outside of Spain and in Spain. I try to always give my best, that’s what the fans want. If you have your image on that building, it’s because you can do things on the field that people like, things that excite them when they see you play.” Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports