USMNT vs Australia prediction, projected lineups, and how to watch

Fresh off a 1-1 draw with Ecuador and one of the best performances of the Mauricio Pochettino era, the USMNT is back in action Tuesday night against Australia. This figures to be another challenging game for the U.S. against another opponent that has booked its ticket to the 2026 World Cup. It’s also another opportunity to test the switch to a three-back formation we first saw in last month’s win over Japan and saw again Friday against Ecuador.

Similar to Ecuador, Australia is a team on a long unbeaten run. The Socceroos cruised through qualifying, winning 11 of 16 matches with just one loss, while scoring 38 goals and conceding just seven. They are also fresh off a 1-0 win over Jesse Marsch’s Canada team on Friday, giving the Aussies a seven-game winning streak and a 12-match unbeaten streak.

Somehow, this is just the fourth all-time meeting between the USMNT and Australia. There were two during the 1990s and one in June 2010, right before both teams participated in the 2010 World Cup. The USMNT won that game 3-1, long before anybody on the current roster started playing for the national team, as not even Tim Ream made his USMNT debut until November 2010.

How to Watch USMNT vs Australia

Time: Tuesday, Oct.14, 9 p.m. ET

Venue: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Col.

Tickets: Click here

TV/streaming: TNT and HBOMax in English | Universo and Peacock in Spanish

USMNT vs Australia Projected Lineup

Pochettino more or less played the strongest starting 11 he had available to him against Ecuador. On Tuesday, look for some changes to give others a chance on the field, especially with several players with something to prove during this international window. That could make the lineup for Tuesday hard to predict, although USMNT fans should expect another lineup with three center-backs and wing-backs pushed high.

USMNT Lineup (3-4-3, right to left)

Matt Turner (GK) - Cameron Carter-Vicker, Chris Richards, Mark McKenzie - Alex Freeman, Weston McKennie, Cristian Roldan, Max Arfsten - Christian Pulisic, Patrick Agyemang, Brenden Aaronson

Australia Lineup (5-4-1, right to left)

Matthew Ryan (GK) - Lewis Miller, Kyle Rowles, Milos Degenek, Cameron Burgess, Jordan Bos - Arjin Hrustic, Aiden O’Neill, Cameron Devlin, Daniel Arzani - Mohamed Toure

USMNT vs Australia prediction

Similar to Ecuador, Australia will be a tough egg to crack defensively. The Socceroos have allowed just three goals in the seven matches they’ve played this year. On Tuesday, Canada had 61% possession and eight shots on target against Australia, but still failed to find the back of the net.

Of course, the USMNT’s formation sets them up to attack from the wings, while also giving Christian Pulisic the freedom to move around and look for pockets of space. The U.S. should also enjoy a bulk of the possession against the Aussies, which should lead to some scoring chances, even if Australia is well organized in the back.

Ultimately, this is a game the USMNT should win, and it’ll be disappointing if they don’t. While Australia’s World Cup qualifying record was impressive, the Socceroos didn’t face a lot of high-quality opponents. Even Friday’s win over Canada was a bit of fool’s gold, as the Aussies registered just one shot on target. While it’s too soon to expect a dominant USMNT performance, look for Pochettino’s side to secure a victory and keep building positive momentum toward next summer’s World Cup. 

Prediction: USA 2, Australia 1