World Cup co-hosts the USA put themselves on course to reach the knockout stage and extend their perfect start to the tournament when Folarin Balogun’s blistering run and cross led to Australia centre-back Cameron Burgess firing the ball into his own net in Seattle on Friday.
Monaco forward Balogun surged inside the box on the left and fizzed a short pass in front of goal, where Swansea City’s Burgess applied an unfortunate touch as the USMNT, who had 81% of possession during the first 12 minutes, continued where they left off from their 4-1 win over Paraguay on matchday one.
“He’s a player full of belief in himself at the moment,” former England midfielder Danny Murphy said of Balogun, adding that the 24-year-old’s speed was “very hard to defend against”.
“It’s a brilliant run, with pace, speed and confidence. He puts it into a brilliant area. The defender’s unfortunate – he’s trying to get back to recover.”
USA vs Australia: How World Cup star Balogun joined USA
Former Arsenal prospect Balogun was born in Brooklyn but prolific for England at under-21 level until 2022.
Also eligible for Nigeria through his parents, Balogun switched to the USA in 2023 and scored twice inside 17 first-half minutes against Paraguay, becoming the first USMNT player to score two goals at a finals match since the inaugural tournament in 1930.
Murphy praised Balogun’s “dynamic” movement and “little flicks” against the Socceroos. “He’s a really talented young lad,” said the ex-Liverpool player, who scored his only Three Lions goal in a friendly against Paraguay in 2002 and was called up to the World Cup squad that year before withdrawing through injury.
“And of course, as we know, he could have been in an England squad.”
Balogun spoke about his choice to play for the USA after his starring role in their opener. “I’ve always said the fans gave me so much motivation, showed me so much support,” he said, via ESPN.
“For me, the most important thing has always been to repay that. I just want to continue to show the fans I made the right decision.
“I’m completely proud and I want to continue to make the fans proud as well.”
World Cup 2026: USA team vs Australia
The USA made one change by introducing Ricardo Pepi in place of Christian Pulisic, who sustained a calf injury during the win over Paraguay on June 13.
USA: Matt Freese, Alex Freeman, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman, Sergino Dest, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi
USA substitutes: Matt Turner, Auston Trusty, Giovanni Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, Miles Robinson, Sebastian Berhalter, Cristian Roldan, Max Arfsten, Haji Wright, Timothy Weah, Mark McKenzie, Joe Scally, Chris Brady, Alex Zendejas
World Cup 2026: Australia team vs USA
Australia made two two changes from their win over Turkiye five days earlier, bringing in Nishan Velupillay and Matthew Leckie for scorers Conor Metcalfe and Nestory Irankunda.
Australia: Patrick Beach, Jacob Italiano, Alessandro Circati, Harry Souttar, Cameron Burgess, Jordan Bos, Mathew Leckie, Aiden O’Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler, Nishan Velupillay, Mohamed Toure
Australia substitutes: Mathew Ryan, Milos Degenek, Jason Geria, Connor Metcalfe, Ajdin Hrustic, Awer Mabil, Paul Izzo, Cameron Devlin, Kai Trewin, Aziz Behich, Nestory Irankunda, Cristian Volpato, Jackson Irvine, Lucas Herrington, Tete Yengi
Where to watch United States v Australia: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Friday was at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on BBC One.
Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: United States v Australia stats
- This is the first World Cup meeting between the teams, who have shared four friendlies
- The USA have won their last two encounters, prevailing 3-1 in June 2010 and 2-1 in October 2025, when Haji Wright scored twice from Cristian Roldan assists
- They have won each of their last seven matches played in Seattle, including each of their five matches at the Seattle Stadium
- The win over Paraguay was the USA’s joint-largest margin of victory at the World Cup and the first time they’ve scored at least four goals in a match at the finals
- The USMNT last won consecutive games at the tournament in their first two matches in the inaugural 1930 edition, one of which was a three-goal victory over Paraguay.
- Australia’s only previous match against a World Cup host was in 1974, losing 3-0 to West Germany in Hamburg
- They have won three of their last four World Cup matches (L1), which is more than they won across their first 17 matches in the competition (W2 D4 L11)
- Those victories have come despite facing 31 more shots than they had themselves across all three wins (26 shots, 57 faced)
- The 30 shots Australia faced in their win over Turkiye was the second-most they have absorbed in a World Cup match, after a total of 31 against West Germany in 1974
- Nestory Irankunda became Australia’s youngest ever World Cup scorer (20 years, 125 days) in their win over Turkiye and could become the first player under the age of 21 to score in his first two World Cup appearances since Memphis Depay for the Netherlands in 2014
