Thanks for joining us
Thank you for joining us. We're wrapping up our coverage of the Socceroos 2-0 loss to the USA.
The Socceroos will next play Paraguay at 12pm Friday 26 June (AEST) at Santa Clara, near San Francisco.
There's plenty of other World Cup action today:
- 8am: Scotland v Morocco
- 10.30am: Brazil v Haiti
- 1pm: Türkiye v Paraguay
You can watch all of the World Cup live and free on SBS or SBS On Demand.
— Miles Proust
What's next for the Socceroos?
The USA will top Group D provided Türkiye do not beat Paraguay later in the day.
Australia could qualify for the knockout rounds with a second-or third-place finish.
Türkiye and Paraguay lost their opening games and are playing later today.
If the match is a draw, Australia will remain in second place.
If Türkiye win, Australia will remain in second place because they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Türkiye after beating them 2-0 in their opening game.
If Paraguay win, they will move level with Australia on three points, but Australia will remain second unless Paraguay win by four or more goals, which would put them ahead on goal difference.
The final standings will then be decided in the final match.
Australia will take on Paraguay next at 12pm Friday 26 June (AEST).
If Australia can stay in second place, the Socceroos will face the second-placed teams from Group G (Belgium, Iran, New Zealand or Egypt).
If they qualify for the Round of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams, it becomes hard to predict their opponent because that will hinge on what happens in other groups.
— Samantha Jonscher
Watch: USA v Australia highlights
17' Yellow card for Bos
Jordy Bos has just received a yellow card after a block on Weston McKennie which pushes his face.
It's a free kick towards the goal area but the follow up volley goes way off.
— Miles Proust
12' Chance Australia
A chance for Australia after Mat Leckie, with a long range effort but it flies off target.
— Miles Proust
School photo
Here is a visual of the Socceroos' starting lineup, in the classic pre-match, school photo pose.
Harry Souttar, Australia's towering centre-back is one tall bloke, standing at 1.91 metres tall.
— Madeleine Wedesweiler
11' Goal USA
The USA have opened the scoring after an own goal by Australia.
Folarin Balogun runs down the left flank, and makes a cross into the six yard box where Australian defender Cam Burgess knocks it into the back of the next.
It's a perfect start for the USA.
- Miles Proust
8' Leckie foul
Tyler Adams was just crunched by Mat Leckie, resulting in a free kick for the USA.
- Miles Proust
6' first chance for USA
The USA have just had their first chance with a patient build-up before a cross from Weston McKennie.
But it's parried away by Australia's defence.
— Miles Proust
Watch live
You can watch the match live and free on SBS on Demand.
And then rewatch the highlights afterwards!
— Madeleine Wedesweiler
2' Socceroos with first chance
Australia have the first chance after a poor pass from the USA is intercepted by Toure.
He shoots but it goes straight to the keeper for an easy save.
— Miles Proust
Kick-off!
And we have kick-off with Mo Toure having the first touch.
The Australians are in all-gold kits, while the USA are in red-and-white shirts.
Albanese wishes the Socceroos luck
Both teams are on the pitch for their country's respective national anthems.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has thrown his support behind the Socceroos.
"To Tony and all our brave boys in green and gold, we're wishing you the very best of luck for all the games to come, as you go deep into the tournament," he said in a recorded video message played on SBS's coverage.
"The whole country is behind you, and we’ll be cheering you every step of the way."
— Miles Proust
Players on the pitch for the national anthem
Both teams are on the pitch for their country's respective national anthems.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has thrown his support behind the Socceroos.
"To Tony and all our brave boys in green and gold, we're wishing you the very best of luck for all the games to come, as you go deep into the tournament,” he has just said in a recorded video message played on the SBS broadcast.
“The whole country is behind you, and we’ll be cheering you every step of the way.”
Fans out in force in Seattle
USA and Australian fans are out in force in Seattle.
Team USA will enjoy a home crowd advantage, with Socceroos' fans to be vastly outnumbered at 68,000 seat Seattle Stadium.
Here's some pictures our reporter Cam Watts took ahead of the match.
— Miles Proust
Melbourne's Federation Square is full
It's 12C and raining here in Melbourne, but that hasn't deterred hundreds of Socceroos fans from attending the watch party at Federation Square.
A flare was set off more than half an hour before the match was due to kick-off.
That prompted a warning from former Socceroo Craig Foster, who is the MC at the event, for fans not to let off flares.
"We want to be here for every match," he said.
— Miles Proust
Irankunda, Metcalfe to start on bench
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has made two selection changes to his starting line-up against the USA.
The two goal scorers against Türkiye, Nestory Irankunda and Conor Metcalfe, will start on the bench.
Mathew Leckie, known for his heroic goal against Denmark at the 2022 World Cup, and Nishan Velupillay will start in their place.
— Miles Proust
'Captain America' out for USA
In a major blow to the USA, star winger Christian Pulisic won't play today due to injury.
Dubbed "Captain America" and the face of the team's World Cup campaign, Pulisic picked up a calf injury in training last week and came off at half-time in the USA's 4-1 thrashing of Paraguay after contributing to two goals.
Striker Ricardo Pepi has been selected in his place making it the only change to the starting XI that faced Paraguay.
— Miles Proust
Welcome to our live coverage!
Good morning to all football fans — both old heads and recent bandwagoners.
It's a high-stakes day for the Socceroos, who will face what looks, on paper, to be a tough USA squad in their second FIFA 2026 World Cup match in Seattle.
The Socceroos put on a spectacular display against Türkiye in their opener on Sunday, while the USA routed Paraguay 4-1.
The winner of this match will likely top Group D and be given a slightly easier path through the knock-out stages.
We're going to be live-blogging the whole match.
The match starts at 5am AEST, and you can watch it live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand.
If you're new to the Socceroos or the World Cup, or just wanting to brush up, we've put together some helpful guides to get you ready for kick-off:
- How to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS
- Who is Socceroos coach Tony Popovic?
- Socceroos' World Cup live sites across Australia
- Everything to know about the Socceroos
- Football 101 explainer
- All the FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on our World Cup page
- Watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026 at our On Demand hub
- When the Socceroos matches start
Looking forward to having you with us.
— Madeleine Wedesweiler
Welcome to our live coverage
Hello and welcome to all football fans — both old heads and recent bandwagoners.
It's a high-stakes day for the Socceroos, who will face what looks, on paper, to be a tough USA squad in their second FIFA 2026 World Cup match in Seattle.
The Socceroos put on a spectacular display against Türkiye in their opener on Sunday, while the USA routed Paraguay 4-1.
The winner of this match will likely top Group D and be given a slightly easier path through the knock-out stages.
We're going to be live-blogging the whole match.
The match starts at 5am AEST, and you can watch it live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand.
If you're new to the Socceroos or the World Cup, or just wanting to brush up, we've put together some helpful guides to get you ready for kick-off:
- How to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS
- Who is Socceroos coach Tony Popovic?
- Socceroos' World Cup live sites across Australia
- Everything to know about the Socceroos
- Football 101 explainer
- All the FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on our World Cup page
- Watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026 at our On Demand hub
- When the Socceroos matches start
Looking forward to having you with us.
— Madeleine Wedesweiler
