USA vs Australia: Co-hosts prove they can cope without Christian Pulisic in statement win over Socceroos

This clash between USA and Australia was billed as a knife-edge encounter between two teams who had each won their 2026 World Cup openers, but the Yanks made it look anything but.

Both teams carried maximum points from their opening games, knowing that a victory would place them on the verge of qualification for the knockout stages - with first place also up for grabs, the stage was set for something tense, and it was the co-hosts that delivered a statement.

The Americans took the lead in the 11th minute, when Folarin Balogun's dangerous work down the left forced Australia defender Cameron Burgess into turning the ball into his own net.

Then, in the 43rd minute, Alexander Freeman doubled the lead, knocking in the rebound after a free-kick effort from Sergino Dest was parried. It was a well-deserved goal for the right-back, who won several ground duels (six of eight contested), aerial duels (four of six contested) and made up to 11 defensive contributions.

By the break, Seattle was already bracing for a routine afternoon, and despite Australia briefly threatening in the second half, with Jordan Bos and Nestory Irankunda combining on the counter, it was hard to see the result going any other way.

All of this, remarkably, was done without the team's biggest attacking threat, who watched from the sidelines.

Here, after the Yanks' triumph, Sports Mole takes a look at how the team coped without the presence of their talisman Christian Pulisic.

The Pulisic question was answered

Pulisic was kicked in the calf during the opening win over Paraguay, left at halftime, and had not trained fully with the squad since.

He had been superb in the first half against Paraguay, grabbing an assist and helping the USA to a 3-0 lead at the break, but the difference in the team's performance after he was substituted was noticeable.

Going into the Australia game, there was genuine anxiety in American soccer circles about what life without him might look like, but the answer, it turned out, was simple as the team performed just fine.

With Pulisic ruled out, Ricardo Pepi started in his place, and rather than the disjointed, less dangerous version of the USA that had shown up after Pulisic departed against Paraguay, Pochettino's side produced a controlled, two-goal first-half display that settled the contest before half-time hydration breaks were even needed.

It was the kind of evidence a coaching staff wants heading into a knockout tournament; proof that the team's identity is not hostage to one player's fitness.

Freeman, Balogun and the strength in depth

If there was a headline beyond the scoreline, it belonged to the players filling the void. Balogun drove the ball hard up the left and his pass inside led directly to the opener, continuing the form that saw him become the first American to score multiple goals in a World Cup game since 1930 in the win over Paraguay.

Freeman, meanwhile, continues to look like one of the most pleasant surprises of the tournament – while that was his first-ever World Cup goal, he was a constant nuisance defensively and offensively all afternoon.

This is the kind of squad balance that wins tournaments rather than just opening games. Australia, by contrast, struggled to live with the tempo, and were caught a step behind on too many occasions trying to keep pace, picking up multiple yellow cards, and struggled to win ground duels, which put them in consistently difficult positions.

The USA did not need to lean on a talisman to dominate that kind of opponent, they simply had enough quality spread across the pitch to make the absence almost a non-event.

What Pochettino should do before Turkey

The picture now facing Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the final group game against Turkey, scheduled for Thursday, June 26, is an enviable one.

The medical staff are continuing to evaluate Pulisic's calf, with hopes he may be cleared in time for that fixture, but Friday's performance buys Pochettino something valuable, which is the freedom to make that decision based purely on fitness, not desperation.

The temptation will be to rush Pulisic back the moment he is available, given his quality and creativity, but Pochettino would do well to resist that urge unless the medical staff are fully confident.

With qualification for the knockout rounds now all but secured, there is no reason to gamble with a player who has a recurring injury history, especially when Pepi, Balogun and Freeman have shown they can carry the attacking burden.

A sensible approach would be easing Pulisic back via the bench against Turkey, using the game to build match fitness without over-exposing him, while trusting the same group that delivered Friday's controlled performance to start.