US faces Australia in Seattle World Cup match amid Pulisic injury concern

SEATTLE — The United States men's national team is set to face Australia at Lumen Field on Friday in a critical World Cup group stage match, carrying momentum from a 4-1 victory over Paraguay but also uncertainty over star forward Christian Pulisic's fitness.

U.S. midfielder Cristian Roldan, who has played for the Seattle Sounders since 2015, expects the home crowd to provide a significant boost. “I fully expect this crowd to be extremely loud. And, they’re going to energize our group,” Roldan said. “This is one of the loudest stadiums in the world when you think about Seahawks games or Sounders games.” He added that the team aims to inspire the next generation and build on the energy from their opening win.

Pulisic, the Americans' biggest star, trained apart from teammates on Thursday for the fourth consecutive day due to a left calf injury. Coach Mauricio Pochettino said his availability remained uncertain as of Thursday night. The team is preparing to play with or without him, as they seek to reward the growing national support.

Australia, known as the Socceroos, opened their tournament with a 2-0 victory over Turkey. Coach Tony Popovic emphasized his squad's ambition: “We want to earn our respect. We know that by our performances, we can put Australian football on the world map. And, that’s what we aim to do. We started off well against Turkey. Now, we want to back it up.”

Pochettino stressed the need to match Australia's intensity, saying, “I think we need to play on the edge of the line, with not crossing the lines of the rules.” Australia center back Harry Souttar anticipates an aggressive start from the U.S., similar to their performance against Paraguay.