SportsPublished: 19 June 2026 at 22:21
USA vs Australia World Cup: Pulisic out injured for co-hosts
The United States face Australia in a World Cup Group D clash on Friday in Seattle without injured winger Christian Pulisic, who is replaced by Ricardo Pepi.
World Cup co-hosts USA aim to maintain momentum as they take on Australia in Seattle on Friday in a Group D match. After opening the tournament with a resounding victory over Paraguay, the Americans will be cautious against an Australian side that also started with a famous win. However, they will be without Christian Pulisic, who has been ruled out due to injury, coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed.
Pulisic trained separately from his teammates this week. Ricardo Pepi, who came off the bench against Paraguay, replaces him as the only change in the starting lineup.
The starting XIs:
- USA: Matt Freese; Alex Freeman, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson; Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman; Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi; Folarin Balogun.
- Australia: Patrick Beach; Jacob Italiano, Alessandro Circati, Harry Souttar, Cameron Burgess, Jordan Bos; Mathew Leckie, Aiden O'Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler, Nishan Velupillay; Mohamed Toure.
