U.S. men’s national team beats Australia 2-0 to advance to World Cup knockout round

The United States men’s national soccer team advanced to the World Cup knockout round on Friday after defeating Australia 2-0, according to a report from The Hill citing an Associated Press account of the match.

The victory came even though the U.S. was without forward Christian Pulisic, who was listed as injured and therefore did not play. The report framed the win as an advancement to the tournament’s next stage despite that personnel setback.

By winning 2-0, the United States secured its place in the knockout round, moving past the group-stage phase of the competition and into the single-elimination portion of the tournament.

The match result meant the U.S. continued its run at the World Cup without one of its key attacking options. The report did not attribute additional specific game details beyond Pulisic’s absence and the final score.

Australia, which entered the match looking to avoid elimination and keep its World Cup hopes alive, was held to no goals in the match. The final margin left Australia without a comeback strong enough to change the outcome described in the report.

For the U.S., the win sets up its next matches in the knockout round, where the tournament format changes from group-stage results to elimination games. The report did not specify the opponent or date for the next stage.