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The second World Cup match for the U.S. Men’s National Team is a consequential one, both on and off the pitch.
The U.S. can clinch the top spot in Group D with a win over Australia Friday afternoon in Seattle if Paraguay also beats or draws with Turkey on Friday night.
This is good news for Fox, which had a whopping 18 million viewers for the USMNT–Paraguay opener. Millions more watched in Spanish on NBCUniversal’s Telemundo.
The match kicks off at 12 p.m. in Seattle (3 p.m. Eastern). That typically wouldn’t be an ideal broadcast window on a weekday afternoon. But Friday is Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., and many people have the day off of work.
This means television viewership at home could be big, as could the amount of people watching matches at Fan Fests and watch parties. In addition to all the food and beverage sales for host committees and local businesses, the watch parties make a difference for TV viewership, too: Fox says out-of-home viewership has increased World Cup ratings by 25%.
The U.S. beat Australia 2–1 in a physical friendly in October.
FIFA has new tie-breaking rules for this World Cup that put head-to-head results ahead of goal differential. The Socceroos beat Turkey 2–0 last week in Vancouver, so two wins for the U.S. without Turkey getting three points on Friday means the host nation would come out on top no matter what happens in the final matches next week. A win would put the Americans through to the knockouts no matter what, and it would clinch the group if Turkey loses to or draws Paraguay later Friday night.
The U.S. advanced out of the group stage in Qatar in 2022, but lost in the subsequent Round of 16 to the Netherlands. The expanded 2026 tournament includes an extra step with the Round of 32.
Finishing at the top of the group sets up a more favorable first round of the group stage. If the U.S. wins its group, it will play its Round of 32 match against a third-place team. Coming in second means playing another team that came in second—which could potentially be Iran in Dallas.
Winning Friday would also guarantee minimal travel and staying on the West Coast. After a final group stage match in Los Angeles, the team would go to San Francisco, followed by a potential Round of 16 in Seattle and a possible quarterfinal in L.A. The USMNT set up base camp in Irvine, California, at the home of USL’s Orange County SC.
The biggest unknown heading into Friday is Christian Pulisic’s health. The star forward only played the first half of the 4–1 win over Paraguay after worsening an existing calf injury, but said the substitution was just a precaution. However, he’s been limited in training all week and working out separately from his teammates.
At his pre-match press conference Thursday, coach Mauricio Pochettino said Pulisic is making a “fantastic effort to try to be ready as soon as possible,” but didn’t say whether he would play or not.
“We will see,” said the Argentine. “If he is not available for tomorrow, he will be available for the next game.”
