We might have only played one round of games in Group D, but the door to the World Cup 2026 knockout stages is open for both the United States and Australia, who meet in their second match in Seattle on Friday (19:00 GMT).After thumping Paraguay 4-1 in their opening game, the USMNT can secure qualification, and potentially even win the group with a match to spare, should they overcome the Socceroos on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listHowever, the same is true of Australia, who shocked Turkiye 2-0 with a counterattacking masterclass in their opening match.It all depends on the outcome of the showdown in Seattle and then the result of the game between Paraguay and Turkiye in Santa Clara a few hours later (03:00 GMT). Christian Pulisic has had his left calf wrapped in a sleeve during training sessions at the University of Washington [Kiyoshi Mio/Reuters]Is Christian Pulisic playing against Australia?USMNT talisman Christian Pulisic picked up an injury to his left calf in training ahead of the opening game against Paraguay, though he started the game in Los Angeles last Friday.He was the architect of the opening goal after seven minutes when he nipped between two defenders and found Weston McKennie, whose cross was turned into his own net by Paraguay’s Damian Bobadilla.Pulisic then laid on the second with a pass to Folarin Balogun just after the half-hour mark, though with USA 3-0 up at half-time, Pulisic did not reappear after the interval, replaced by Sebastian Berhalter.The 27-year-old AC Milan playmaker joined the team huddle before training on Thursday with his calf still strapped but did not take part in the session, instead heading to the gym with backroom staff. Advertisement USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino told his pre-match media conference: “He’s evolving. He’s much better from Friday. We’ll see. If we see he’s not available, he will be available for the next game [against Turkiye in Los Angeles on June 26 02:00 GMT].”The Argentinian added: “I think he’s doing a massive effort trying to be read …
