The United States is into the Round of 32. A 2-0 win over Australia at Lumen Field gave the USMNT back-to-back World Cup wins for the first time since 1930 and clinched Group D after Turkiye lost to Paraguay. Folarin Balogun set up the opener with a surging run down the left that Cameron Burgess turned into his own net (11'), and Alex Freeman headed in a deflected Sergino Dest effort just before halftime (43') for his first World Cup goal; Christian Pulisic sat out with the calf issue we had flagged. Our card split: the best bet, the under 2.5, cashed in the 2-0 game, but the Folarin Balogun anytime-scorer lean missed (he created the first goal but did not get on the scoresheet), and our caution on USA -1.5 was the wrong steer since the two-goal win would have covered it. We predicted 1-0; it finished 2-0.
Canonical coverage: This story is covered in depth on our linked guide. Read the full reference page for the complete context.