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USA

Matt Freese Tested even less than he had been against Paraguay, though some timidness about leaving his line to sweep and claim crosses projects worrying command of his area. 6

Tim Ream Engineer of plenty of good efforts up the left and often involved in the defensive half. Another credible captain’s shift. 7

Chris Richards Not quite perfect on the pass again, but just about as he stewarded sequences. Needless late challenge puts him in yellow card limbo. 7

Alex Freeman Vertical prowess must run in the family. Another balanced all-around shift, this time with a goal to show for it. Star in the making kind of stuff. 8

Antonee Robinson Kept ball fizzing up the left touchline with seven progressive passes. Provided width for Balogun’s run on opener, but now on yellow card watch. 7

Tyler Adams In his bag operating behind a pair of box-to-box midfielders like he did for Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. Kept Australia from making good progress in central third throughout. 7

Sergiño Dest Took the initial shot that was lobbed into Freeman’s zone on second goal. Good interplay with McKennie along the right to keep two-sided balance. 6

Weston McKennie Relished in another more advanced shift: six progressive passes, eight progressive receptions, and four passes into the box, per Futi. Some dazzling footwork with Dest in moments. 7

Malik Tillman Another composed shift with tidy recirculation and progression in spades. Quick tricky to dispossess, leading to more opposing yellow card cautions to limit Socceroos. 7

Folarin Balogun His incisive run up the channel was rewarded with another own goal opener. Held his own as Australia upped physicality in second half; rent-free in Australian heads throughout. 7

Ricardo Pepi A surprise starter who thwarted Australia’s plans and shape, but unable to place either shot on target. Was industrious off the ball as the more hard-yards complement to Balogun. 6

Substitutes

Sebastian Berhalter (Pepi 74) A closer’s shift as Mauricio Pochettino sacrificed an attacker for more midfield stability. 6; Joe Scally (Dest 80) First action of the tournament to rest Dest’s legs with game comfortably won. 6; Auston Trusty (Robinson 80) First action of the tournament with game comfortably won. 6; Gio Reyna (McKennie 90+6) Mostly anonymous as a stoppage time victory cigar; little to do as the scrums had already kicked off. 6; Haji Wright (Balogun 90+6) A couple of opportunistic scampers behind the back in a last-minute cameo. 6

Australia

Patrick Beach Should have defended his front post better for the opening goal, but was abandoned by his defenders for the second. 6

Harry Souttar Made a few crucial blocks as the anchoring centre-back, but didn’t use his height to any advantage during Australia’s rare attacking set pieces. Prevented any major chances in the second-half. 6

Cameron Burgess Clattered the ball into his own net for the opening goal, ball-watched for the second. Came off at half-time. 5

Alessandro Circati Picked up Australia’s second yellow card for a high boot but otherwise defended stoically. Made a desperate diving block to prevent a third goal early in the second half. 6

Jacob Italiano Was beaten on too many occasions by USA’s wide players in the first half, but showed a bit more creativity when pushing further forward in the final 30 minutes. 5

Jordan Bos Earned the game’s first yellow card for shoving McKennie in the face, and was regularly beaten down the wing. Offered very little in attack. 5

Aiden O’Neill Was isolated and overwhelmed in midfield for most of the game, and failed to control the tempo or connect key passes. 5

Paul Okon-Engstler Struggled to assert himself physically for the first 70 minutes and lost too many one-on-one challenges. 5

Nishan Velupillay Spent most of his time defending and didn’t provide any transitional outlets on the rare occasions Australia had the ball. Was pulled at half-time. 5

Mat Leckie Australia’s best attacker early in the first half with a handful of shots and crosses, but faded as the game progressed. Came off injured just after the hour. 6

Mohamed Touré Had the first of Australia’s five total shots early on, but barely touched the ball after that. Replaced by Irankunda at half-time. 5

Substitutes

Jason Geria (Burgess 45) Stepped into the right side of Australia’s back three and didn’t look out of place. Could have clawed a goal back late on if not for a lunging USA block. 6; Connor Metcalfe (Velupillay 45) Made an immediate impact off the bench with forward runs and line-breaking passes. 7; Nestory Irankunda (Touré 45) Offered a more dangerous counter-attacking threat than Touré, causing trouble every time he reached top speed. 6; Cristian Volpato (Leckie 61) Warmed into the game and delivered a few decent crosses into the box, but still looked a little lost structurally. Sent Australia’s best opportunity over the crossbar. 6; Jackson Irvine (Okon-Engstler 78) Added a key connecting piece in midfield to bring his team-mates up the field. Should have come on sooner. 6