(June 17, 2026) – USMNT SET FOR WORLD CUP SHOWDOWN WITH AUSTRALIA – by Gerard Robbins

After Earning Three Points Against Paraguay, USA Will Face Australia in Battle of Group D Leaders; Kickoff From Seattle Stadium on June 19 is at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET on FOX and Telemundo

SEATTLE (June 17, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s National Team will continue its FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign on Friday, June 19 against Australia. The USA will then close out Group D play with a match against Türkiye on June 25 at Los Angeles Stadium.

Kickoff for USA-Australia from Seattle Stadium in Seattle, Wash. is 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET on FOX and Telemundo.

U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM – FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)

DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire; 1/0), Matt Freese (New York City FC; 16/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 54/0)

DEFENDERS (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 20/1), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 40/3), Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP; 18/2), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 29/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 83/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 37/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 55/5), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 40/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 26/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 8/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth/ENG; 55/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps; 14/1), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 67/12), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 39/10), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 47/0), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER; 31/3)

FORWARDS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 58/9), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 28/11), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 38/13), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 87/33), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille/FRA; 52/7), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 20/7), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 14/2)

USA SCHEDULE – 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP

BALOGUN’S BRACE

Historic both personally and internationally, Folarin Balogun’s brace to help lead the USMNT to a victory against Paraguay was a significant milestone for the forward. Up until that match, Balogun had never registered a brace for the USMNT with just three two-goal games and one hat trick at the club level. Balogun’s double on the night made him the first player to record his first brace for the USMNT in a World Cup match, but also just the second player ever to record multiple goals in a World Cup game, the first being Bert Patenaude’s historic hattrick against Paraguay in the 1930 edition. The forward became just the 26^th player to score for the USMNT in a World Cup, bringing his USMNT total to 11 goals. Balogun has been a Thorn in Paraguay’s side. He also netted the 71^st minute winner in their previous meeting on Nov. 15, 2025.

HISTORIC GROUNDS 

Located in the heart of Washington, Seattle Stadium boasts a rich and storied history with USMNT games and players. Unbeaten in all six matches played at the stadium, the USMNT will travel to Seattle for the first time in over 10 years, the most recent match coming in a 2-1 victory over Ecuador in the 2016 Copa America. The lone Seattle Sounder on the roster, Cristian Roldan will have the opportunity to play at the home of his club team, which would make him the first USMNT player to appear in a World Cup at their home stadium. The USMNT’s 6-0-0 record at Seattle Stadium is its third highest winning percentage at any stadium in the United States.
USA ROSTER NOTES

• All 26 players on the World Cup roster earned caps in official competitions this cycle.
• In the match against Paraguay, seven USMNT players made their World Cup debuts: Folarin Balogun, Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Freeman, Matt Freese, Ricardo Pepi, Chris Richards and Malik Tillman.
• With 87 caps, Christian Pulisic is the most-capped player on the roster.
• Following Pulisic in terms of seniority are Tim Ream (83), Weston McKennie (67), Brenden Aaronson (59), Matt Turner (55), Tyler Adams (55), Antonee Robinson (55) and Tim Weah (52).
• Twelve players on the World Cup roster featured in the USMNT’s most recent encounter with Australia on Oct. 14, 2025: Brenden Aaronson, Max Arfsten, Folarin Balogun, Alex Freeman, Matt Freese, Weston McKennie, Mark McKenzie, Christian Pulisic, Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, Cristian Roldan and Haji Wright.
• Folarin Balogun’s brace marked only the second multi-goal game for a USMNT player in World Cup play the first being Bert Patenaude’s historic hat trick in 1930 vs. Paraguay

• Balogun also became the first player to register his first brace for the USMNT in a World Cup match.

• Sebastian Berhalter made his FIFA World Cup debut, entering the match at halftime to replace Pulisic. The Berhalters are the second family to have a father and son represent the USMNT in a World Cup.
• Christian Pulisic registered an assist against Paraguay to become the USMNT’s all-time leader in World Cup assists with three in five matches.
• Gio Reyna scored his first World Cup goal against Paraguay in his third World Cup appearance.
• The USMNT’s 4-1 victory against Paraguay is the most goals scored in a World Cup game and second time in the modern era the team has won a World Cup game by multiple goals (previously, 2002 World Cup vs. Mexico)
• The victory against Paraguay was the USMNT’s 10^th win in World Cup play.
• The win also tied the USMNT’s largest margin of victory for a World Cup game, alongside two 3-0 victories for the U.S. in the 1930 edition.
• With the USMNT playing in Seattle Stadium, Cristian Roldan could become the first USMNT to appear in a World Cup at his club’s stadium.

• The World Cup Team players represent clubs in 10 different countries: USA/Canada – MLS (8), England (5), France (3), Germany (3), Italy (2), Netherlands (2), Mexico (1), Scotland (1) andSpain (1).

• The players represent hometowns in 12 different states: New York (4), California (3), Pennsylvania (3), Texas (3), New Jersey (2), Alabama (1), Delaware (1), Florida (1), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Missouri (1) and Ohio (1).
• Four other players have hometowns in three different foreign countries: England (2), Germany (1) and Netherlands (1).

• Folarin Balogun and Gio Reyna join Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Haji Wright as the five players on the roster that have scored a World Cup goal. In 2022, Weah opened the scoring in the USA’s 1-1 draw with Wales to open the World Cup, Pulisic provided the crucial game-winner in the 1-0 victory against IR Iran, and Wright scored in the 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the Round of 16.

• The U.S. Way has served the 2026 World Cup squad well. Fourteen of the 26 players were part of U.S. Soccer’s U-14 Boys Talent Identification Program and 23 of the 26 have played for a U.S. Youth National Team. In total, 12 players also represented the United States at a Youth World Cup: Tyler Adams (2015 U-17, 2017 U-20), Sergiño Dest (2017 U-17, 2019 U-20), Mark McKenzie (2019 U-20), Ricardo Pepi (2019 U-17), Christian Pulisic (2015 U-17), Gio Reyna (2019 U-17), Chris Richards (2019 U-20), Joe Scally (2019 U-17), Auston Trusty (2015 U-17, 2017 U-20), Tim Weah (2017 U-17, 2019 U-20), Haji Wright (2015 U-17), Alex Zendejas (2015 U-17).

USA-AUSTRALIA

• Friday marks the fifth meeting all-time between the USA and Australia.
• The USA and Australia last clashed on Oct. 14, 2025, in Commerce City, Co., in a 2-1 victory with a brace from Haji Wright.
• The USMNT maintains a 2W-1L-1D record against Paraguay.

AUSTRALIA ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; CAPS/GOALS) 

GOALKEEPERS (3): Patrick Beach (Melbourne City/AUS; 3/0), Paul Izzo (Randers FC/AUS; 4/0), Matthew Ryan (Levante/ESP; 104/0)

DEFENDERS (10): Aziz Behich (Melbourne City/AUS; 83/3), Jordan Bos (Feyenord/NED; 26/4), Cameron Burgess (Swansea City/ENG; 70/3), Alessandro Circati (Parma Calcio 1913/ITA; 12/1) Milos Degenek (Apoel FC/CYP; 56/1), Jason Geria (Albirex Niigata/JPN; 13/0), Lucas Herrington (Colorado Rapids/USA; 3/0), Jacob Italiano (Grazer AK/AUT; 4/0), Harry Souttar (Leicester City FC/ENG; 37/11), Kai Terwin (New York City FC/USA; 5/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Cameron Devlin (Heart of Midlothian/SCO; 5/0), Ajdin Hrustić (Heracles/NED;16/0), Jackson Irvine (St Pauli, GER; 81/14), Connor Metcalfe ((St Pauli, GER; 35/1), Paul Okon-Engstler (Sydney FC/AUS; 5/0), Aiden O’Neill (New York City FC/USA; 30/0)

FORWARDS (7): Nestory Irankunda (Watford, ENG; 15/4), Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City/AUS; 80/14), Awer Mabil (CD Castellon, SPA; 38/10), Mohamed Toure (Norwich City, ENG; 9/0), Nishan Velupillay (Melbourne Victory/AUS; 7/3), Cristian Volpato (Sassuolo/ITA; 1/0), Tete Yengi (Machida Zelvia, JPN; 2/1)

IN FOCUS: AUSTRALIA

WORLD CUP HISTORY

Australia have qualified for six consecutive World Cup tournaments dating back to 2006 … Most recent meeting between the U.S. and Australia was a friendly on November 10, 2025, in Commerce City, Colorado where U.S. won 2-1 … The U.S. and Australia have never faced each other in a World Cup … Head Coach Tony Popovic is the first Australian to play and manage the team at the World Cup … Australia’s all-time top goalscorer, Tim Cahill (50 goals), played two-and-a-half seasons with New York Red Bulls of MLS … Current Australian midfielders Aiden O’Neill and Kai Trewin play for MLS club New York City FC where he is a teammate of U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese … On January 1, 2006, Australia officially became a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after 40 years in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).

AUSTRALIA HEAD COACH TONY POPOVIC

Australia is led by 52-year-old head coach Tony Popovic, who recently became the first person to both play for and coach the Socceroos in a World Cup match. He was named Australia’s head coach on Sept. 23, 2024, and has since compiled an 11-4-4 record. The former defender spent the majority of his playing career in England with Crystal Palace FC (2001-06), also spending time in his native Australia with Sydney United 58 FC (1989-97) and Sydney FC (2007-08), as well as Japan with Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1997-01). With Australia’s national teams, Popovic made appearances in both the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 2006 FIFA World Cup and helped the Socceroos to a pair of OFC Men’s Nations Cup titles in 1996 and 2000. After retiring from professional soccer in 2008, Popovic remained with Sydney FC in an assistant coaching role before returning to Crystal Palace in a similar role. He earned his first head coaching job in 2012, leading Western Sydney Wanderers FC (2012-17) before going on to helm Türkiye’s Kardemir Karabükspor (2017), Perth Glory FC (2018-20), Greece’s Xanthi FC (2020-21) and Melbourne Victory FC (2021-24). During his club coaching career, Popovic helped the Wanderers become the first Australian side to win the AFC Champions League Elite (2014), won the A-League with the Wanderers (2012-13) and Perth Glory (2018-19) and was named Coach of the Year in both the AFC (2014) and A-League (2012-13, 2018-19, 2021-22).