Group D play continues Friday with the USMNT taking on Australia in Seattle. The winner would lock in a spot in the knockout round – the same applies to the winner of Mexico versus South Korea tonight. Weston McKennie, who is from Little Elm, started in the midfield and was an instrumental part in the USMNT’s decisive win over Paraguay 4-1. In just the seventh minute of that match, a move made by McKennie and U.S. forward Christian Pulisic resulted in an own goal by Paraguay. McKennie spent time in the FC Dallas Youth Academy; he currently plays for Juventus. Pulisic was subbed off at halftime. Australia delivered one of the surprises of the tournament, beating Turkiye in Vancouver. Turkey dominated possession (72%) and had a 30-9 advantage in total shots, but goalkeeper Patrick Beach stopped all eight attempts on target as Australia secured a clean sheet. The Socceroos were stout up the middle and found goals from both of their wide midfielders. Australia, like the U.S., was eliminated in the round of 16 in the 2022 World Cup, falling to eventual champion Argentina. The Socceroos are 23rd in FIFA’s latest world ranking, while the U.S. is 15th. But the Americans could be without star Christian Pulisic against Australia. Pulisic was subbed off at halftime against Paraguay due to a calf injury, and he hasn’t taken part in the full team training activities this week. This will be the first-ever meeting between the U.S. and Australia on the World Cup stage, and the match comes with both countries battling for the top spot in Group D. The U.S. currently holds the tiebreaker for first over Australia thanks to a superior goal differential. The match will be played at Seattle Stadium, home of the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, at 2 p.m. CST. The U.S. and Australia met in an October friendly, which saw the Yanks come back for a 2-1 win. The Americans were playing a back three, but Mauricio Pochettino did not have Tyler Adams. The coach also did not start Folarin Balogun, Malik Tillman, or Tim Ream. The USMNT’s final group stage game is on June 25 against Turkiye back in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. CST. Turkiye plays Paraguay on Friday, June 19, at 10 p.m. Should the U.S. advance, the round of 32 then follows from Sunday, June 28, to Friday, July 3. ...read more read less