US, Australia close in on knockout stage qualification

The United States and Australia will look to book their place in the World Cup knockout rounds on Friday, while Brazil aim to kickstart their campaign against Haiti.

After tournament co-hosts Mexico sealed their place in the last 32 on Thursday with a 1-0 victory over South Korea, the USA or the Socceroo’s can join them with a victory in their Group D game in Seattle.

After an unconvincing build-up, the Americans made a flying start to the World Cup last week with a stylish 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in Los Angeles.

That result has left Mauricio Pochettino’s USA team brimming with confidence and the country getting behind them as they prepare for the showdown with the Socceroo’s in the Pacific Northwest.

Australia is also approaching the USA clash in a buoyant mood after their stunning 2-0 upset of Turkey on Saturday.

Those two wins mean that either the USA or Australia will advance to the last 32 with victory in a game that has had an undercurrent of tension in the build-up.

A comment from a US pundit suggesting that Australia would be an easy opponent for Pochettino’s team has been seized on Down Under, prompting Socceroo’s coach Tony Popovic to say that his team would do their talking on the field.

“We know that we want to earn our respect,” Popovic said on Thursday. “We know that by our performances we can put Australian football on the world map, and that’s what we aim to do.”

Brazil defender Gabriel Magalhaes said the five-time World Cup winners need to turn the page on a disappointing 1-1 draw with Morocco in their first game as they prepare to face winless Haiti.

Also Read: Ghana edge Panama 1–0 in dramatic World Cup opener

“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,” Gabriel said on Thursday.

“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 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 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,” he said.