SEATTLE — Mauricio Pochettino’s plan to take the long view to the United States men’s national team’s run at the 2026 World Cup proved wise on Friday.

The U.S. coach kept star Christian Pulisic on the bench against Australia, and his side responded with a 2-0 win over the Socceroos at Seattle Stadium to secure a spot in the knockout round.

When Paraguay defeated Turkey 1-0 late Friday night, the U.S. sealed first place in Group D.

With Pulisic recovering from a calf injury sustained in the opening win over Paraguay, Pochettino opted to start Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi up front. The pair kept constant pressure on Australia, which struggled against the Americans’ speed despite playing five defenders.

It was Balogun who forced the issue with a run down the left wing in the 11th minute. His pass into the six-yard box was intended for Pepi but never reached its target. That’s because Swansea City defender Cameron Burgess got in between, only to have the ball deflect off him and past goalkeeper Patrick Beach.

“(Pochettino has) always given us different ideas to attack. So, to play with Pepi today wasn’t a shock,” said Balogun, who added that he did not know Pulisic’s status until before the match. “It wasn’t like a plan B before CP was out. It didn’t feel like that to me.

“It just felt like another solution to win the game.”

It was the second own goal the Americans have benefited from in as many matches and set the tone for the remainder of the day. The U.S. added a second goal when defender Alex Freeman headed a ball past Beach. Initially ruled offsides, the call was overturned by VAR.

The victory gave the Americans (2-0-0) six points in Group D. By topping the group, the U.S. will play their round-of-32 match in Santa Clara, Calif., on July 1.

Australia (1-1-0) remain in contention to advance with their final group game coming Thursday against Paraguay (1-1-0).

Despite Pulisic being seen at team training on Wednesday, Pochettino said after the game that it was “impossible” for him to play Friday. While saying earlier in the week that Pulisic would face Turkey if he wasn’t able to play against Australia, after the match he offered only that he hopes Pulisic can “help the team as soon as possible.”

For Balogun, Friday continued a torrid start to the World Cup, which began with two goals against Paraguay. He also helped force an own goal in that game, making the United States the first team in World Cup history to benefit from own goals in consecutive games.

Freeman’s third international goal came just minutes after he and Australian midfielder Paul Okon-Engstler were attended to following a head collision. The son of former NFL wide receiver Antonio Freeman, who once scored a touchdown in the same stadium, Alex Freeman admitted he was anxious while waiting for the VAR.

“When it was a goal, I looked back and I saw all my teammates running at me,” Freeman said. “I was like, ‘Oh Lord, now they’re running.’ And then, I ended up running and celebrating with them, and I think it just made me very emotional in the moment.”

Both teams managed only a pair of shots on goal. The Aussies’ first came in the opening minute of play, when Mohamed Toure’s attempt was easily saved by goaltender Matt Freese. The Americans would dominate the remainder of the half.

Australian coach Tony Popovic attempted to switch the flow with a trio of substitutions coming out of halftime. That included removing Toure and playing Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe up top. While the Aussies did apply more pressure on Freese in the second half and created multiple frantic moments in front of the goal, they were unable to find the back of the net.

The U.S. finished with a clear edge in possession at 56%, according to FIFA, while Australia was credited with 33%, and the remainder was contested.

It was also a physical match, with U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams the target of multiple hard tackles in the first half.

“It was a physical game. I don’t think it was anything different than what we expected,” Adams said. “Fouled a couple times, fouled other people a couple times. It’s the nature of the game.

“I think you need to play into it a little bit and understand what the game requires, and that’s what it required today.”

The tone was set early for a match that saw 28 combined fouls and seven yellow cards.

“Very physical, a lot of challenges,” Balogun said. “I think the referee did his best to try and contain it, but this is a World Cup. So it’s expected for the passion to sometimes spill over. But I think we kept our cool, and it was a really professional performance from us.”

The U.S. have now won games in front of partisan crowds in Los Angeles and Seattle, and will return to L.A. to face Turkey. Friday’s game included a helicopter flyover and a vibrant crowd in the home of MLS’ Seattle Sounders, whose fans are known to stand for the entirety of matches.

“I’m just so happy they were able to come out and to be able to kind of have that atmosphere,” Freeman said. “And kind of sing those songs that calm and make us, you know, kind of accept the fact that we’re here and we have such an amazing thing to do. And now we have more stuff to do.”

And even though first place in Group D is now clinched, work remains to be done ahead of the knockout round.

“We kind of need to put a 24-hour rule on things,” Adams said. “Enjoy the moment. Enjoy your time with the families. Disconnect a little bit. And then when it’s time to work, we got to go back to work.

“Another important game against Turkey. And I feel like in my head, it’s like, ‘Do the job.’ Focus on the next one until you’re out of games to play, because then you did something right.”

–Derek Harper, Field Level Media

Dalton Rushing delivered the game-tying RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning and Ryan Ward raced home on a throwing error by right fielder Tyler O’Neill to win it as the Los Angeles Dodgers roared back to edge the visiting Baltimore Orioles 6-5 in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.

The Orioles scored five straight runs via back-to-back homers by Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso in the sixth and a tie-breaking two-RBI single by Jeremiah Jackson in the seventh before the Dodgers came back against Baltimore closer Ryan Helsley (0-3).

Freddie Freeman grounded out leading off against Helsley, who was making his second appearance after missing seven weeks with a right elbow injury. Mookie Bets followed with a homer to make it 5-4. Max Muncy walked and Tommy Edman popped out before Ward worked a four-pitch walk.

Rushing fell behind 0-2 before singling to right on a 1-2 pitch. Alex Call, pinch running for Muncy, slid in with the tying run as O’Neill’s throw glanced off the glove of catcher Samuel Basillo and skipped towards the Dodgers dugout and well beyond Helsley. Ward never broke stride as he rounded third and scored the winning run standing up.

Blake Treinen (4-1) struck out two in a perfect ninth as the Dodgers earned their fourth straight win.

Muncy produced a two-run single in the first and Andy Pages laced an RBI double in the second to stake the Dodgers to a 3-0 lead.

The Orioles have lost five of six.

Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six over 5 2/3 innings. He allowed just two baserunners in the first five innings before Jackson Holliday led off the sixth with a single and scored two outs later on Henderson’s homer. Alonso chased Sasaki with a blast to left.

Orioles starter Trey Gibson gave up three runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out eight over five innings.

–Field Level Media

Paraguay’s Matias Galarza scored the fastest goal in any World Cup match this year barely more than a minute in, leading Paraguay to a 1-0 win over Turkey on Friday night in Santa Clara, Calif.

The South American team overcame the loss of veteran Miguel Almiron to a red card just before halftime.

Paraguay (1-1-0, 3 points) kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, after the U.S. defeated Australia 2-0 earlier Friday in Group D. The U.S. (2-0-0, 6 points) clinched first place in the group thanks to the Paraguay-Turkey result.

Australia (1-1-0, 3 points) will face Paraguay on Thursday in Santa Clara, with the Aussies needing only a draw to clinch second place. Turkey (0-2-0, 0 points) were eliminated ahead of their group finale against the U.S. on Thursday in Inglewood, Calif.

Galarza delivered his decisive strike from 25 yards out as three defenders converged on him.

Turkey had shots hit the crossbar and the goalpost, rattling the woodwork but not going in.

Turkey pressed for a tying goal early in the second half but came up short, though they played with a man advantage for the last 45-plus minutes.

Almiron was shown a red card for covering his mouth when talking to an opposing player, a gesture banned under a new FIFA rule.

Can Uzun shot just wide in the 82nd minute, one of several attempts for Turkey as they desperately tried to salvage a point to stay alive for possible advancement.

An 85th-minute cross filtered through the box in front of the goal, another late missed Turkey chance. Three more attempts in the closing minutes didn’t hit the target, and Turkey players crumpled to the ground at the final whistle in disbelief over their elimination from advancement in the World Cup.

Turkey had five shots on target and 31 shots overall, while Paraguay had just two and seven, respectively. Turkey also had 11 corner kicks to zero for Paraguay, but Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill made five saves for the clean-sheet win.

–Field Level Media