DON'T MISS A MOMENT OF THE WORLD CUP Your all-access pass to scores, live updates, and insights Explore GOAL Ryan Tolmich Jun 20, 2026 09:01+08:00 'We've had this belief' - Folarin Balogun magic and Alex Freeman breakthrough goal send USMNT to World Cup knockouts as belief in historic run grows: Winners and losers from win over Australia Winners & Losers USA Australia FEATURES Analysis USA vs Australia World Cup F. Balogun A. Freeman The USMNT is into the World Cup knockouts after another statement win, with Folarin Balogun, Alex Freeman and a growing belief turning a strong start into something bigger. SEATTLE -- If Zlatan says it, that must mean it's true. Well, probably not. Anyone who has followed the legendary striker's career knows that he does tend to exaggerate the truth a little bit, particularly when speaking about himself. But on Friday, he wasn't speaking about himself; he was speaking about the U.S. men's national team fresh off their most recent World Cup win, a 2-0 triumph over Australia. With that win, the USMNT has now won back-to-back World Cup games for the first time since 1930. If the tournament-opening 4-1 win over Paraguay raised spirits, this win, one sealed by a Folarin Balogun-created own goal and an Alex Freeman header, sent those spirits into overdrive, even for Sweden's most legendary soccer star. The question was simple: Does he, the great Zlatan Ibrahimovic, believe that the USMNT can win the World Cup? The answer, from one of the sport's most complicated figures, was simple, too: "Yes." That, of course, is what USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino has been trying to create for over a year and a half now. He's been working to build that belief, both in his team and in the fanbase that supports it. For weeks, the USMNT's players have been saying they believe, because why play in a World Cup if you don't? On Friday, though, it felt like they weren't alone; it felt like the country was starting to believe, too. "Every game, every time that we play, we want to win," defender Chris Richards said. "I don't think it's ridiculous to say that we want to win it. Obviously, we've got a lot more games before we get to that moment, and we take it one game at a time. We want to lift a trophy at the end of this." Is that possible? No one really knows. The World Cup is long and, even with Friday's win, there's still so much work to do. The three points against Australia have the team in the knockout rounds, for sure, but there still could be some work to do to top the group. Then, from there, the knockout rounds are where things really get difficult, where you really start to play the world's best with that trophy Richards alluded to on the line. There are no guarantees at World Cups, and none that the USMNT can go all the way. There's also the flip side of that: there's no reason why they can't. That's what the players in the group believe, and that's what those who follow the team are starting to believe, too. Heck, even Zlatan believes, and the more that belief builds, the more room there will be on the bandwagon this team has constructed with two big results to start a home World Cup. "We've had [this belief] since a while ago," midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said. "It's not just right now; we've had this belief. It's been something that's been growing ever since Mauricio took over, and we're just trying to keep it going." He added: "I think right now people want to say we're gonna do great, but then three weeks ago everyone said we have nothing and we don't got a chance. For us, we have to just keep doing what we're doing." GOAL breaks down the Winners & Losers from Seattle... Getty Images Sport WINNER: Folarin Balogun Legitimately world-class. That's the best way to describe the sequence from Balogun that led to Australia's own goal. Elite pace, elite control, and, ultimately, the perfect ball into the box to give the U.S. the lead they needed to unsettle their opponents. There are so many things Balogun does well and so many aspects of his game that, ultimately, transform this UMSNT. Even in games like this, where the U.S. is not running wild on the counter, where Balogun is at his best, he still finds so many ways to impact a game. His runs are smart, his hold-up play is helpful, and generally, his play in the box leads to goals. That happened again on Friday as Balogun, alongside somewhat unfamiliar strike partner Ricardo Pepi, gave Australia plenty to deal with. "To be honest, [Pochettino] has always given us different ideas to attack, so to play with Pepi today wasn't a shock," Balogun said. "It wasn't like a plan B because CP [Christian Pulisic] was out. It didn't feel like that to me. It just felt like another solution to win the game." Ultimately, the game-winning finish wasn't his goal on the statsheet, but the USMNT's opener was all Balogun, who continues to be this team's breakout World Cup star. Advertisement Getty Images Sport LOSER: Cameron Burgess Last week, it was Damian Bobadilla. This week, it was Cameron Burgess. Another game, another early own goal to ease any of the nerves felt by the USMNT. It was a historic one, too, as the USMNT became the first team to ever benefit from own goals in consecutive World Cup games. Like Bobadilla, Burgess was just the unfortunate one at the end of the sequence. Balogun had carved through the defense on Australia's right-hand side, taking space inside the box before cutting inside. His ball in was dangerous, and Burgess was on the wrong end of that danger as he was unable to direct the ball away from Australia's net. It was a dream start for the USMNT, and a nightmare one for Australia. They never really recovered. Unlike Turkey, the USMNT did not get caught out on the counter, and it was at least partly because they already had an early lead to hold onto. A tough break for Australia and a tough one for Burgess, too. Getty Images WINNER: Alex Freeman Less than 13 months ago, Alex Freeman was a bundle of nerves ahead of his first USMNT cap. On Friday, he scored for the Americans in the World Cup. Things change quickly, huh? Since his arrival ahead of the 2025 Gold Cup, Freeman has seemingly gotten better every game. It all reached a crescendo in Seattle, as the Villarreal defender popped up with the USMNT's second goal. It was scrappy, and it came with a long VAR review, but that review only served to build suspense for the eventual euphoria that came after. When the goal was confirmed, Freeman darted off back to his own defensive end, celebrating with anyone in his path. "I was very anxious to see whether it was a goal or not," Freeman said. "And then, when it was a goal, I think I looked back, and I saw my teammates running at me, I'm like, 'Oh Lord'. I ended up running and celebrating with them, and I think it just made me very emotional in the moment." What a moment it was for Freeman, and what a player he's become for the USMNT, not overnight, but still rather quickly. Brought in as an attacking fullback, the 21-year-old has turned into a defensive monster, one who did plenty of good work against Australia even before popping up with his big goal. "Being with him, he's a lovely guy," Pochettino said, "and, for me, he has the potential to be one of the best players in this world at his position." ENJOYED THIS STORY? Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting Getty Images Sport LOSER: Tony Popovic All eyes were on the USMNT XI when it was unveiled, namely, one major change. That was, of course, Christian Pulisic, who was replaced by Ricardo Pepi due to his calf injury. Australia, meanwhile, had their own changes. Both goalscorers from the Turkey game, Nestory Irakunda and Connor Metcalfe, were named to the bench. It was, particularly in hindsight, a puzzling choice as Popvic started the game without his two most confident counterattackers. It, of course, backfired. Throughout the first half, with neither of those two on the field, the U.S. were totally comfortable. In the second, with them on the field, Irakunda, in particular, gave the USMNT backline a lot of work to do. It's easy to wonder what would have been different if he had been given more time to run at a backline that, prior to Friday, hadn't kept a clean sheet since September. “We didn’t want to go with the same 11, and you could see why today. Probably, I should’ve made more [changes] when you look at how difficult the match was,” he said. “We judge what we see at training, how the players look, how they’ve recovered physically and emotionally from the match, and we wanted some freshness in those wide areas, and that enabled us to put more explosive players on in the second half.” It seems, then, that Popovic might just have overthought it, limiting Australia's chances at getting anything from this game. Getty Images Sport WINNER: Seattle There's no downplaying the atmosphere for the USMNT's opener against Paraguay. But Seattle? Seattle felt different, and it felt that way all day long. Early in the morning, fans were on the streets, many wearing USMNT kits of various eras. Some had trumpets, others had flares, and others had Bloody Marys, kickstarting a celebration that didn't end until long after the final whistle had blown. There were helicopters overhead, a stunning national anthem sung by the crowd, and ultimately, there was an incredible result. That helped, too. After the game ended, the crowd made no move towards the exits. Instead, they sang. "Livin' on a Prayer" was first, followed by "Country Roads". The USMNT's players sang with them, taking multiple laps around the stadium to soak in the atmosphere in one of America's great soccer cities. Seattle has had that reputation for a while now, and on Friday, they got the chance to show it off on the world stage. They did that, creating an atmosphere unlike any other. "I was walking around at the end of the game, and that's when I feel like you really got to appreciate it," Tyler Adams said. "Obviously, walking out, the national anthem, the flyover, that was all really special, but you're trying to focus and take your time to get ready for the game, whereas after the game, just walking around, it was incredible. Looking at my family in the crowd, singing. Everyone was happy."
'We've had this belief' - Folarin Balogun magic and Alex Freeman breakthrough goal send USMNT to World Cup knockouts as belief in historic run grows: Winners and losers from win over Australia
