Published Jun 4, 7:39pm ET by
Demilade Adelekun - Betting Preview Analyst and Sports Writer
Last updated Jun 4, 7:39pm ET
Credit: Shutterstock
Updated Jun 4, 7:39pm ET
USA and Australia meet on matchday 2 of Group D at Lumen Field in Seattle, with both sides coming off their opening fixtures against Paraguay and Turkey respectively.
Christian Pulisic leads a USMNT attack that carries genuine European depth across every position.
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| USA | -210 |
| DRAW | +500 |
| Australia | +300 |
Christian Pulisic has 32 international goals in 84 appearances, the most caps of any active player in the squad. He arrives at this tournament off one of his better seasons at AC Milan. He was operating as the creative focal point Pochettino's system is built around. Behind him, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams run the midfield from Juventus and Bournemouth respectively, giving the USA genuine two-way quality in the positions that control games. Folarin Balogun scored 19 goals across all competitions for Monaco this season. Ricardo Pepi added 19 for PSV. Haji Wright contributed 17 for Coventry in the Championship.
This is the deepest forward group the USMNT has carried into a tournament. Playing in front of a home crowd in Seattle only adds to it. Pochettino has been deliberate in building a side that presses high and attacks in transition. And against a Socceroos defence that conceded just 0.30 xG against Colombia in a recent friendly, the question is whether the USA can break them down rather than whether they can score. They can.
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Australia are hard to beat. Tony Popovic has built the Socceroos around defensive shape and organization, with Mat Ryan anchoring the back line at his fourth World Cup. The 34-year-old Levante goalkeeper has 104 caps and has been the difference in tight knockout games before. Harry Souttar and Alessandro Circati form a physically imposing centre-back partnership, and the unit that held Colombia to almost nothing in preparation is genuinely difficult to break down.
Going forward is where it gets harder. Mathew Leckie is 35 and arrives at his fourth World Cup, bringing direct running. He also has a record of delivering in big moments like his goal against Denmark in 2022. Jackson Irvine and Ajdin Hrustic provide experience in midfield. But 17 of these 26 players have never been to a World Cup, and the gap between Australia's attacking output and the USA's defensive line is real. Against a pressing side with Pulisic, Balogun, and Pepi in front of them, the Socceroos need near-perfect defensive execution just to stay in the game.
Pulisic, Balogun, and Pepi against a defence that prides itself on being hard to break down. The USA has the quality to break any defence open, and a partisan Seattle crowd will only raise the intensity. Australia can make this uncomfortable, but three forwards with combined 55 goals this season is too much firepower to contain for 90 minutes. We're backing USA -210.
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Pick
USA -210
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