Nutshell: USMNT Uses Possession Against Australia to Move to 2-0
- Steve Titcomb
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
The USMNT clinched their spot in the World Cup Round of 32 with a strong first half against Australia.
Forget Obsession, the USMNT's first half against Australia was all about POSSESSION. A repeat of their first World Cup game against Paraguay, early momentum had the USMNT pressing the Aussies deep in their own end, which led to an own goal to start the scoring early.
Adapting to Pulisic's Absence
Even without Christian Pulisic (out with a calf injury) Weston McKennie and the rest of the team were able to control the flow of the ball and kept it in Australia’s half of the field for a large majority of the first half. Where Pulisic was missed most was in the USMNT's ability to create chances in front of the goal. Possession is good, but with the amount of time they held the ball you would've expected them to have a lot more shots on goal.
A deflection late in the first half and with the help of VAR gave Alex Freeman his first World Cup goal and the USMNT a 2-0 lead at the half.
Second Half Sloppiness
The game was a tale of two halves, as everything the team did right in the first half did not make an appearance after halftime. We saw sloppy play and a few foolish yellow cards that will probably have Folarin Balogun and Antonee Robinson on the bench for their third World Cup game against Turkey; this will avoid the possibility a suspension in the next round by picking up a second yellow.
Australia was the team pressing in the second half, but the inequality between the teams showed, as they were unable to put the ball into the U.S. net. An ugly, chippy second half made me glad for my second margarita, as it wasn’t an exciting half of football.
Some Fine Tuning to be Done
Positives and negatives aside, the USMNT has locked in a spot in the World Cup Round of 32. They will hopefully use the third game to refine their strategy and take a few chances, giving some of their bench players a bit more play time.
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