This is the grudge match Australia has been waiting for since the World Cup draw landed at the Kennedy Center in December. The Socceroos are set to take on the United States in Seattle, and yes, from an Australian reporter writing on an American website, I can confirm this one has become personal back home.
After a section of the US TV pundit class decided Australia was a “lay-up”, the mood Down Under shifted pretty quickly from polite interest to full green-and-gold grievance mode.
Just when you thought Grella couldn’t dig himself a bigger hole after calling the Socceroos a “lay-up”…
🎥 CBS Sports Golazo pic.twitter.com/AVn992cS9F
— Round Ball Australia (@RoundBallAus) June 13, 2026
The match will be played at Lumen Field, or Seattle Stadium as FIFA will insist on calling it during the World Cup because apparently sponsored naming rights are where global football actually draws the moral line.
As for who actually lines up for Australia on Friday afternoon, that is where things get interesting.
World Cup Group D Matchday 2 of 3
USMNT vs Australia
Kick off: Juneteenth, “Seattle” Stadium, 2pm CST (yes, central, the best time zone of all)
Broadcast: regular OTA FOX on TV, FOX One and FOX Sports apps, streaming on Tubi
Predicted Starting XIs: Socceroos USMNT
Current FIFA Ranking: USMNT #15 Socceroos #22
Google’s Result Probability: Australia win 17% Draw 23% USA win 60%
Group Standing: Australia 2nd, 3 pts, +2 GD USA 1st, 3 pts, +3 GD
Tony Popovic made one of the biggest selection calls in recent Socceroos history before the opening match against Türkiye, dropping both captain Mat Ryan and vice-captain Jackson Irvine.
It looked bold. It looked ruthless. It also worked.
Australia won 2-0, Patrick Beach became a cult hero, the back three survived a Turkish avalanche, and Popovic suddenly looked less like a man taking a gamble and more like a man who knew exactly what he was doing.
So, naturally, predicting his next starting XI feels like walking into a trap.
I’ll have a go anyway. No shade if this ends up wildly wrong by kick-off.
In goal, it is hard to see Beach being dropped. The 22-year-old had the game of his life in Australia’s World Cup opener and already looks like he has developed a cult following. Mat Ryan has been an outstanding servant for the national team, but after that Türkiye performance, it might be a long way back
Across the back line, I expect Popovic to stick with the same defensive unit.
Jacob Italiano and Jordan Bos should continue as wing-backs, with licence to get forward when Australia can escape pressure and turn the US around.
The central defensive trio of Cam Burgess, Harry Souttar and Alessandro Circati should also remain intact.
Souttar remains the man-mountain in the middle, Burgess gives Australia that old-school steel, and Circati offers enough composure on the ball to stop every clearance looking like it has been launched from a suburban car park.
The midfield is where I can see one change.
Aiden O’Neill played the full 90 minutes against Türkiye and did a huge job, but this feels like the moment for Irvine to return. If he does, he takes the captain’s armband back and slots in next to Paul Okon-Engstler, who was superb in the opener and suddenly looks like he belongs on this stage.
That is harsh on O’Neill, but tournament football is cruel. Also, Popovic has already shown he is not picking this team on sentiment.
The front three should remain unchanged.
Connor Metcalfe and Nestory Irankunda were the goalscorers in game one and should start either side of Mohamed Toure, who gives Australia pace, pressure and the ability to make American centre-backs spend 90 minutes doing very uncomfortable recovery runs.
Irankunda is the obvious chaos weapon. He is raw, fearless and apparently not particularly interested in waiting his turn. Against a US side that will expect to have more of the ball, his ability to turn one transition into a national incident could be crucial.
So there it is. Australia’s predicted XI for the “lay-up”.
Good luck with that.
Socceroos predicted starting XI vs USMNT
Patrick Beach; Cam Burgess, Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati; Jacob Italiano, Jackson Irvine, Paul Okon-Engstler, Jordan Bos; Connor Metcalfe, Nestory Irankunda; Mohamed Toure.