USA down Australia to reach World Cup knockout rounds

The United States powered into the last 32 of the World Cup on Friday with a 2-0 victory over Australia as Brazil prepared to kickstart their campaign against Haiti.

A day after Mexico sealed their place in the knockout rounds, the USA emulated their fellow World Cup co-hosts with a clinical Group D win over Australia in Seattle.

A Cameron Burgess own goal in the 11th minute and a headed effort from Alex Freeman two minutes before half-time sealed a comfortable win for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who have advanced to the second phase of the tournament with a game to spare.

After an unconvincing build-up, the Americans have made a dream start to the tournament with Friday’s victory following a stylish 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in their opening game last week.

The co-hosts could even clinch first place in Group D later on Friday if Turkey lose or draw against Paraguay in the late match.

“It was a fantastic game again. We dominated against a very tough team,” Pochettino said.

Brazil need improvement

In other games on Friday Brazil will look to turn the page on a disappointing 1-1 draw with Morocco in their first game as they prepare to face winless Haiti.

“We know what we have to do. We know that we didn’t have a good first match, but what we can expect from us is that we’ll be really committed tomorrow and we’re going to do our best to win,” defender Gabriel Magalhaes said.

“It wasn’t the match we wanted (against Morocco), but this is in the past and we’ve learned from it.”

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said he would change the line-up — and sought to put the team’s sluggish start into context.

“Getting off to a good start is important in a World Cup, but the most important thing is that the team, rather than being perfect, has to be resilient,” the Italian said.

Scotland captain Andy Robertson meanwhile urged his team to build on their opening 1-0 win against Haiti and get a result against Morocco in Foxborough on Friday which would help propel them into the knockout rounds of a World Cup for the very first time.

“I don’t think any of the lads or the coaching staff and backroom staff have shied away from it,” Robertson said.

“We want to be the first team to be able to do that for our country. And it’s obviously a nice feeling to try and do that.”

Morocco’s preparations for the game have been overshadowed by the confirmation on Friday from a French appeals court that their captain Achraf Hakimi will face trial for the alleged rape of a woman in 2023.

The Paris Saint-Germain defender, who denies the charge, welcomed the news, writing on X that he had been “waiting for this trial since day one.”

“At last, I’ll be able to speak,” said Hakimi, who was named to start against the Scots.

Iranian complaints

Off the field, Iran’s football federation said on Thursday it will lodge a complaint with FIFA claiming their team is being subjected to travel restrictions during the tournament.

“Despite having submitted its preparation schedule for the tournament well in advance, Iran’s national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organizers, affecting the implementation of its technical staff’s plans,” the spokesman said.

Iran wanted to fly from their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to Los Angeles two days before their next match, against Belgium on Sunday.

But the Iranian federation said its request was turned down.

The US administration has pushed back against the Iranian demands.