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His goal and Alex Freeman’s goal helped the home side maintain their record and progress to 32.
Updated on 19 Jun 2026
The United States showed they can win without Christian Pulisic, beating Australia 2-0 to reach the World Cup round of 32, but coach Mauricio Pochettino hopes his charm will return in their next game.
Pulisic missed Friday’s Group D clash in Seattle with a calf injury sustained during the United States’ win over Paraguay, leaving the hosts without their most powerful player.
The Americans still found a way, taking the lead in the 11th minute through a Cameron Burgess goal, before Alex Freeman came on at half-time after a VAR review overturned the original decision.
“It’s always difficult because we want to have all the players,” Pochettino said. “Christian is an important player for us, but … it was impossible today for him to play. We hope that the next game will be there.”
The USA reached six points and secured their place in the knockout stages with one game to play.
Pochettino said Pulisic remained at the center of his thinking but added that any successful World Cup run would require contributions from the entire squad.
“If we want to win the championship, we need the whole team,” he said. “All players must be important.
“Of course, Christian is one of the best players in the world. I hope he can recover quickly and can enjoy being on the pitch and helping the team.”
Weston McKennie praised the depth of the US team and said the team showed on Friday that they can do it all.
“We can play a great game because we have guys who are ready to do things, and we have talented guys who can play possession football,” he said.
USA closes Group D against Turkey on Thursday at Los Angeles Stadium.
