USA have advanced to the knockout round at the World Cup despite the absence of injured forward Christian Pulisic after beating Australia 2-0.
A deep US roster on Friday overcame Pulisic’s absence to clinch a knockout berth after only two matches for the first time.
The last time the Americans served as World Cup hosts in 1994, they advanced by being one of the best third-place teams. They then lost to eventual champion Brazil in their next match, which was in the round of 16.
Pulisic, who plays for AC Milan and has 33 goals in 87 international appearances, missed Friday’s match because of a calf injury.
Alex Freeman, the youngest player on the team at 21 and son of Super Bowl champion Antonio Freeman, gave the Americans a 2-0 lead in the 43rd minute off a set piece.
