Key events
18 min: Really impressive recovery run from Miles Robinson to snuff out an Australia attack. Those kinds of plays are why he can be such a useful defender for the US. Very few like him in the open field.
15 mins: Christian Pulisic goes down after heavy tackle, with his ankle getting caught underneath him as he fell. Slightly worrying but the US captain is up and appears to be moving fine.
8 mins: The US broadcast just recounted the story of Mauricio Pochettino posting the message “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” in the US locker room – a quote he took from the Chick-fil-A CEO who he sat down with earlier this year. He was apparently enthralled.
Anyway, about Chick-fil-A’s culture …
6 mins: Tim Weah is playing in the left wingback position, a spot he hasn’t occupied much if ever for the US, but a place he’s played plenty with Marseille after his offseason move from Juventus. Antonee Robinson won’t be available tonight as he continues to recover from knee surgery, but a solid Weah performance here could make him an option at Robinson’s spot should that injury issue continue unexpectedly.
Alexander Abnos
Question for readers
Who are you most interested in seeing tonight, and why? (Would love responses from either team’s fans!)
Let me know! My email/bluesky are above.
1 min: We are underway!
Alexander Abnos
After the Australian national anthem and an, uh, interesting rendition of the US counterpart, we are all set to go.
Alexander Abnos
The teams are heading out on to the field, which provides another reminder that Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado has one of the strangest player entrance paths I’ve seen. The players walk all the way from a separate clubhouse up a bunch of stairs at the far end of the field, and enter the field behind the goal on that side.
Nothing wrong with it, per se! Just weird.
Alexander Abnos
In case you missed it, the USMNT’s previous time out ended up going pretty well! Mauricio Pochettino stuck to the 3-at-the-back look and was rewarded with probably the best overall performance of his time in charge.
As for Australia, things also went well, as teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda scored to seal a 1-0 win over Canada.
Alexander Abnos
And if you’re in the mood for some slightly more ridiculous and/or sobering news, US president Donald Trump threatened today that he might move to take away World Cup games from Boston (and the Olympics from LA).
Does he have authority to do that unilaterally? Not really.
Alexander Abnos
Looking for a quick pregame read?
Might I suggest Mike Tuckerman’s great piece on how several Australians have found a home in Major League Soccer:
Australia’s starters
And here is Tony Popovic’s starting XI for the game against the US.
Maty Ryan captains the team, with a few changes from the Socceroos’ last game, a 1-0 win over Canada. The goal scorer from that game, Nestory Irankunda, starts on the bench.
The USMNT Starters
We have the home team’s lineup for the match.
The big news is that Christian Pulisic starts this game after being on the bench last time out against Ecuador. US coach Mauricio Pochettino said Pulisic was dealing with a minor problem in camp, but clearly it’s not enough to keep him out of the XI today.
James Sands and Cristian Roldan are some other interesting additions, bot hof whom figure to occupy more defensive midfield positions behind Pulisic and Weston McKennie further up field.
Haji Wright gets the nod at striker. A good performance from him could give the USMNT something of a striker controversy after so much time waiting for someone – anyone – to perform consistently in that position.
Based on personnel, this will nominally be a 3-4-2-1 but with plenty of flexibility during the match itself:
USMNT XI: Matt Freese; Chris Richards, Miles Robinson; Mark McKenzie; Tim Weah, Cristian Roldan, James Sands, Alex Freeman; Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie; Haji Wright
Alexander Abnos
Hello all! Alexander Abnos here, ready to take you through … whatever this friendly ends up being. Any score predictions? Send ‘em my way on BlueSky or my email, which is above.
Alexander will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look at how Major League Soccer is proving a fertile ground for a growing band of Australian players and coaches.
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