USA vs Australia: Men’s International Friendly Football Match – Live Updates | Friendly matches
Main events
15 minutes: Christian Pulisic fell after a violent tackle, and his ankle got stuck underneath him as he fell. It’s a little unsettling but the US captain is up and seems to be moving well.
8 minutes: The US broadcast has just told the story of Mauricio Pochettino spreading the message “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” in the US locker room – a quote he took from the Chick-fil-A CEO he sat down with earlier this year. He was apparently fascinated.
Anyway, about the culture of Chick-fil-A…
6 minutes: Tim Weah plays as a left-back, a position he did not play much for the United States, but played a lot for Marseille after his off-season move from Juventus. Antonie Robinson will not be available tonight as he continues to recover from knee surgery, but Weah’s strong performance here could make him an option in Robinson’s place if the injury problem continues unexpectedly.
Alexander Ebony
Question for readers
Who are you most interested in seeing tonight, and why? (I love responses from fans of any team!)
Let me know! My email/bluesky is above.
1 minute: We are underway!
Alexander Ebony
After the Australian national anthem and an interesting rendition of the American anthem, we’re all ready to go.
Alexander Ebony
The teams head onto the field, another reminder that Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, has one of the strangest player entry paths I’ve seen. Players walk along the path from a separate clubhouse up a flight of stairs at the far end of the field, entering the field behind the goal on that side.
There’s nothing wrong with that, per se! Just weird.
Alexander Ebony
In case you missed it, the USMNT’s previous timeout ended up well! Mauricio Pochettino stuck to the back three look and had the best overall performance of his time in charge.
As for Australia, things went well too, as youngster Nestori Irankunda scored a goal to seal a 1-0 win over Canada.
Alexander Ebony
And if you’re in the mood for some more ridiculous and/or alarming news, US President Donald Trump threatened today that he might move to pull the World Cup games from Boston (and the Olympics from Los Angeles).
Does he have the authority to do so unilaterally? Not real.
Alexander Ebony
Looking for a quick pre-match read?
May I suggest a great article by Mike Tuckerman on how so many Australians have found a home in the AFL:
Beginning in Australia
Here is Tony Popovic’s starting lineup for the match against the United States.
Matty Ryan is the team’s captain, with some changes from the Aussies’ last game, a 1-0 win over Canada. The top scorer of that match, Nestori Irankunda, starts on the bench.
USMNT starters
We have the home team’s lineup for the match.
The big news is that Christian Pulisic starts this match after sitting on the bench last time out against Ecuador. USA coach Mauricio Pochettino said Pulisic was dealing with a minor issue in camp, but that was clearly not enough to keep him out of the starting lineup today.
James Sands and Cristian Roldan are other interesting additions, with Boe Hoof occupying more defensive positions in midfield behind Pulisic and Weston McKennie further up the pitch.
Hajj Wright gets the nod for the striker. A good performance from him could give the USMNT something of a debate among forwards after so much time waiting for someone – anyone – to perform consistently in the position.
Depending on the personnel, this will nominally be 3-4-2-1 but with a lot of flexibility during the match itself:
USMNT XI: Matt Freeze; Chris Richards, Miles Robinson; Mark McKenzie; Tim Weah, Christian Roldan, James Sands, Alex Freeman; Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie; Hajj Wright
Alexander Ebony
Hello everyone! Alexander Ebony is here, ready to accompany you… whatever the outcome of this friendly match. Any outcome predictions? Send them to BlueSky or my email above.
Alexander will be here soon. Meanwhile, here’s a look at how the AFL is proving to be fertile ground for a growing crop of Australian players and coaches.