If Australia\u2019s group-stage opener against T\u00fcrkiye is a sign of how motivated the Socceroos are to advance to the World Cup knockout stage for just the third time ever, the United States might have to work even harder than it did in its emphatic 4-1 win over Paraguay.<\/p>\n
Australia opened its tournament with a shocking 2-0 win over T\u00fcrkiye that put it level in points with the U.S. in Group D. However, the U.S. can win the group and advance to the round of 32 with a win on Friday and a Paraguay win or draw. Australia has never won its group at a men’s World Cup.<\/p>\n
Here is everything you need to know about USA vs. Australia on Friday:<\/p>\n
(Photo by Jamie Squire\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n That\u2019s the pressing question on the minds of U.S. fans and players alike. “I don’t really know what’s going on,” said midfielder Brenden Aaronson, who could take Pulisic\u2019s spot in the starting lineup if the USA\u2019s top attacker isn\u2019t sufficiently healed from his calf injury. “We know that he’s gonna give us his all to get back into the team and be there for the game, so we’ll see.”<\/p>\n Coach Mauricio Pochettino has other options, too. There\u2019s Gio Reyna, whose playmaking ability could be useful against an Australian team expected to clog their own 18-yard box with defenders. But since Reyna\u2019s probably better coming off the bench, I wonder if perhaps Alex Zendejas could be considered; like Pulisic, the lefty can also beat\u00a0opponents off the dribble. He also gives the Stars and Stripes a different look.<\/p>\n (Photo by Alex Livesey – FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n Given the spotlight that\u2019s been bearing down on Christian Pulisic this week due to his left calf injury, he’s the clear choice. Pulisic hasn\u2019t practiced fully with the team all week, and his status has remained day-to-day after he was kicked in the back of the leg and missed the second half vs. Paraguay. This is crucial for many reasons.<\/p>\n For starters, he\u2019s an irreplaceable member of this squad and was so dangerous in the last match, contributing to the first two goals. But how healthy is he really? Is this all a bit of a facade, or is he struggling? Australia is a physical group, and the last time these teams played in October, Pulisic exited in the first half after a hard challenge. You know the Aussies are going to come after him, so seeing how manager Mauricio Pochettino manages his minutes and his health, and then how Pulisic looks when he\u2019s on the field \u2014 if he\u2019s on the field \u2014 will be a key part of this game. \u2014 Laken Litman<\/i><\/p>\n Goalkeeper: <\/strong>Matt Freese<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Alex Freeman<\/p>\n Defense: <\/strong>Chris Richards<\/p>\n Defense:<\/strong> Tim Ream<\/p>\n Midfield:<\/strong> Antonee “Jedi” Robinson<\/p>\n Midfield:<\/strong> Tyler Adams<\/p>\n Midfield:<\/strong> Malik Tillman<\/p>\n Midfield:<\/strong> Weston McKennie<\/p>\n Forward:<\/strong> Sergi\u00f1o Dest<\/p>\n Forward:<\/strong> Alex Zendejas<\/p>\n Forward:<\/strong> Folarin Balogun<\/p>\n Given that it took a long time for Mauricio Pochettino to find that right tactical approach, I don’t think he is going to want to change everything just because Christian Pulisic isn’t likely to start. I think the best approach is to make a direct swap and keep the tactics the same. The three most likely options are Alex Zendejas, Tim Weah or Brenden Aaronson.<\/p>\n Mexican-born Zendejas is not as explosive as Pulisic, but he is left-footed and can help the attack in a variety of ways. I think he will be the surprise starter, while everything else stays the same. \u2014 Brian Sciaretta<\/i><\/p>\n (Photo by Jared C. Tilton – FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n Mentality is everything here, especially with the USA coming off such a big Paraguay win. Confidence is important, but it can’t overshadow the grind with so much time between matches.<\/p>\n I’ve been in scenarios where the first match feels ages away from the second. And you don’t forget about the win, but you have to stay calm, recognize it’s in the past and keep building. I’m excited to see the type of mentality the U.S. will bring to Australia, especially as there’s some beef brewing between the teams. \u2014 Melissa Ortiz<\/i><\/p>\n This is the first-ever competitive meeting between the United States and Australia at a men’s FIFA World Cup. The U.S. has played Australia on four occasions, most recently in October, but never in a competitive setting. The U.S. leads the all-time series with a record of 2W-1D-1L. \u2014 FOX Sports Research<\/i><\/p>\n I think the USA will get its second win of the tournament. Will it be easy? No, it won’t.<\/p>\n Overall, I’m very encouraged by what I’ve seen so far on both sides of the ball from the USA. The style of play has been great and really positive, playing good soccer that is fun to watch. You also see little things from them, intangibles that generally lead to winning games.<\/p>\n So, I’m expecting three more points from the matchup on Friday in Seattle, but I’m not expecting that it will be a walk in the park for us. \u2014 Maurice Edu<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY If Australia\u2019s group-stage opener against T\u00fcrkiye is a sign of how motivated the Socceroos are to advance to the World Cup knockout stage for just the third time ever, the United States might have to work even harder than it did in its emphatic 4-1 win over Paraguay. Australia opened its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}