Scouting USA vs. Australia: 2022 USMNT Defender Previews Huge Group D Clash

For the second time in as many 2026 World Cup games, I expect the USA will have the majority of possession on Friday against Australia.

The looks that the team will see, though, will be very different. The way Australia will defend the USA will be very different compared with Paraguay. It will be up to head coach Mauricio Pochettino to make sure his team is flexible in how it can attack the Aussies in Seattle.

Here’s what to expect from USA vs. Australia.

There will be a similar defensive approach from Australia on Friday, like what the USA saw against Paraguay in its opening game, but it will be slightly different.

Paraguay played in more of a mid-block. What does that mean? While the team had plenty of numbers behind the ball, its focus was more on defending the middle of the field.

Australia will play a lower block and sit even deeper than Paraguay. The Socceroos will defend in a back five compared with Paraguay’s back four. With that, the Aussies will sit further back and be very content to soak up pressure. 

I’d expect that there’s only going to be about 20 to 25 yards of space between the Australia defense and its striker. One way to look at that is the cut of grass. Usually, those are about six yards long.

Player To Watch

Souttar was absolutely immense in Australia’s win over Türkiye. His positioning was flawless, and he won everything in the air. He was very much leading the defensive line as it moved up and down the field and kept the team in very good shape.

Given how I expect Australia to play and defend Friday, the player in the center of defense, the anchor, will be crucial. If the Australians are going to get a result and stay strong defensively, it will start with him.

I think Australia is going to be harder for the USA to break down than Paraguay was.

It’s much more difficult to break down a low block compared to a mid-block, which Paraguay used. Türkiye struggled to create quality chances against Australia, despite having more than 25 shots. There were few clear-cut scoring chances where you’d expect someone to score.

For the USA, adapting to how Australia plays and figuring out what works will be crucial. Is it getting the ball wide and swinging crosses into the box? Is it trying to overload Australia in wide areas? Türkiye struggled to adapt and find solutions, so the USA will have to learn from that.

I expect that USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino will have training sessions this week that will very much be focused on breaking down a low block.

Player To Watch

Dest was quietly effective but didn’t get too much attention against Paraguay. That makes sense with Folarin Balogun scoring twice and Christian Pulisic thriving on the left wing during his 45 minutes in the first half.

Dest was positionally disciplined against Paraguay. If he maintains that, I think we’ll see a couple more moments of him getting one-on-one opportunities against a defender in wide positions.

If Dest is able to attack his defender and beat the first man in front of him, he’ll be able to unbalance the Australian backline. He’ll also be responsible for either putting in good service from the right wing or fighting to find position at the back post if the attack is coming from the left.