The U.S. beat Australia 2-0 in Seattle on Friday, clinching a spot in the knockout round of the World Cup after two matches for the first time. Those first two matches have “felt and looked different,” with results that have “never been seen from the Americans. Dominant. Swarming. Aggressive. And Impressive.” The U.S. has won at the World Cup before, “but not like this.” Not with “this level of control and dominance.” Maybe the U.S. getting to the round of 16 and another trip through Seattle “isn’t far-fetched.” That “should be the expectation at this point.” Paraguay’s win over Turkey on Friday knocked Turkey from the tournament and made the U.S.’s group stage finale against Turkey next Thursday in L.A. “meaningless” (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/19).
Almost 67,000 soccer fans “shook Seattle Stadium with electrifying screams claps and jumps” during U.S.-Australia, and they were “strong enough to trigger seismic activity readings” (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/20). In Seattle, Mike Vorel wrote on a world stage, the city “transcended.” It “met the moment.” It put its “best foot forward,” same as the USMNT. USMNT coach Mauricio Pochetttino, a native of Argentina, said, “I think it was amazing. The fans were amazing. The warm reception and the way they support us … they make it feel very emotional. (The players) are very emotional too.” Vorel: “This is sports city. A soccer city. An American soccer city. A nationally underappreciated, misperceived, persevering diamond in the Pacific Northwest, at its best” (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/19).
Meanwhile, Fox issued a preliminary viewership figure from Friday and noted 14,781,000 viewers for U.S.-Australia. A final number is expected Monday (Fox).
The U.S. is set to play a third-place team from either Group B, E, F, I or J on July 1 in Santa Clara. Should the Americans win that match, they would then come back to Seattle on July 6 for a match in the round of 16 and a chance to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/19). The cheapest single ticket for the USMNT’s round-of-32 match as of Saturday afternoon cost $3,312 on TickPick for a seat in Section 401 and Row 28, “aka the very last row at the top level of the venue.” The floor for the ticket prices on StubHub is $3,736 and SeatGeek at $3,425 was comparable. For fans looking to buy directly from FIFA’s resale marketplace, the cheapest ticket was $4,485 in Category 4 (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/20).
ESPN.com’s Sam Borden wrote it is “OK to believe” in the U.S. It is “OK to be optimistic, to think big and imagine this group doing something grand.” The U.S. has shown “it can respond to home crowds like it has never seen before.” After the first two matches, it “doesn’t feel absurd to imagine the American energy carrying the U.S. even further” (ESPN.com, 6/20). In L.A., Kevin Baxter wrote the World Cup is only a little more than a week old, but it is “already a historic one for the U.S” (L.A. TIMES, 6/19). In San Diego, Mark Zeigler wrote under the header, “United States’ luminous World Cup performance could be the start of special summer” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 6/19).
