World Cup in Philly: Brazil in complete control at the Linc; U.S. beats Australia, moves on to knockout round

Vinícius Júnior scored and assisted on one of Matheus Cunha’s two goals as five-time champion Brazil eliminated Haiti from the World Cup with a 3-0 victory on Friday night.

Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, became the first team guaranteed not to reach the knockout round. Meanwhile, the Seleção got the decisive performance they needed.

Cunha, the Manchester United standout, got the start and showed with every surf-and-slide goal celebration why he should have been in the starting lineup in Brazil’s listless 1-1 draw against Morocco. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made the surprising decision in the opener to instead insert Cunha as a late substitute.

SEATTLE — I've just left the stadium here, three hours after the U.S. game ended, and all the sports bars across the street on Occidental Avenue are still packed.

The sun is shining, the temperature is in the 70s, there's a breeze off the water, and it looks like the citywide party will keep going for a good while.

You can bet they'll be watching Brazil-Haiti on the TVs here. And they'll be watching the Mariners too, since they have a home game against the Red Sox in two hours. T-Mobile Park is a block south of Lumen Field, so there's a mix of soccer and baseball fans around.

Marie Alexis danced jubilantly in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field as team Haiti took the field for a pre-game warm up. 

“We’re at the World Cup!” she kept yelling. 

A native of Haiti now living in Rahway, N.J., Alexis began to cry as she talked about Haiti being in the World Cup for the first time in 50 years. 

Emily Vanim of Pottstown had one of the best FIFA volunteer jobs - sitting in a lifeguard chair with a megaphone welcoming fans to “FIFA-delphia" and answering all their questions. 

“Never give a teacher a megaphone,” she said. 

The sixth grade teacher said she’s met the best people as a FIFA volunteer. 

Things got chippy towards the end of the U.S. men’s national team second group match against Australia, but it was forward Florian Balogun who kept composure in the face of a second yellow card.

Going in for a challenge in the 88th minute, Balogun and Australian defender Harry Souttar got tangled in the air and found Souttar with his arm wrapped around the neck of Balogun on the way down. Instead of reacting to the bait, Balogun who picked up a yellow card earlier in the match was smart to walk away.

It led commentator Stu Holden to say: “The Australians have come here to have a rugby match, but to have restraint in these moments, to not swing an arm and punch back. Souttar is trying to get under his skin.

Stateside Live! turned into Brasil Live! Friday as a sea of fans descended on the stadium bar complex prior to their team’s World Cup game against Haiti at nearby Philadelphia Stadium. 

By 3 p.m., the entire complex was a sea of yellow-and-green, dotted with islands of Haiti fans (and a few team USA fans) in red, white, and blue. 

Belange Pierre, 54, of Ottawa, Canada, waved a Haitian flag outside the gates. He drove to Philly with four friends to catch his team’s first World Cup game in 50 years. They were confident they’d be driving back to Canada with a win under their belts after the game. 

SEATTLE - It didn't take long for the United States' shift to a two-striker front line to pay off.

Folarin Balogun's hot form continued just 11 minutes in, as he forced an own goal off Cameron Burgess to put the Americans ahead. Antonee Robinson sprung Balogun down the left flank, and he sprinted almost all the way to the end line, then laid a pass into the middle for Ricardo Pepi and Sergiño Dest's late runs.

But the ball hit Australian centerback Cameron Burgess near the six-yard box instead, and pinged right into the net.

SEATTLE - Like most NFL stadiums, Seattle's press box is glass-enclosed, though it least it has some small windows that open to pick up a bit of the atmosphere.

But I wanted the real thing for a moment. So I snuck outside to the seating bowl for the players' walkout and the national anthems.

Both sets of fans belted out their national anthems, with the Star-Spangled Banner ringing around the entire stadium. You could probably hear it up the street at the ferry terminal.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker helped open the gates of the FIFA Fan Festival ahead of the U.S.’s clash with Australia at 3 p.m.

Parker stepped out into the crowd waiting at the festival’s main gate and posed for photos with fans waiting in line, including one with a group of traveling Scottish supporters.

Before the gates opened, Parker said she was appreciative that fans are showing up to the city and the festival “authentically, as themselves.”

SEATTLE – You might not think that Philadelphia and Seattle have much in common, thousands of miles apart and with different cultural vibes. But during this World Cup, it feels like they have a lot in common.

It’s not just that the U.S.-Australia and Brazil-Haiti games are on the same day, which has put the two cities at the top of the World Cup’s headlines. It’s that they’re true cities, the kind where you can feel the energy of a big event just by being there.

That’s how a World Cup is supposed to be, and has been at all the other ones I’ve been to. The sights and sounds of big fan gatherings are as important as the games themselves.

SEATTLE – Christian Pulisic will not play in the U.S.-Australia game, as he hasn’t recovered enough from his calf injury to make the squad.

“Christian is not available,” U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino told Fox Sports’ broadcast moments before FIFA published the teams’ starting lineups. “Let’s hope that as soon as possible he can be ready to be selected again, and to be part of the team. Now we need to be focused on our team, and the players that are going to play. We have ahead very important game – Australia is going to be really tough.”

Pochettino said Pulisic trained Friday morning and “the feelings are good” on the star playmaker’s overall recovery.

The gates of the FIFA Fan Festival don’t open to visitors until 2 p.m., but a line has already started to form at the main gate. 

Gus Sanchez said he and his family had been in line since about noon after biking over from Northeast Philly.

Sanchez said he wanted to watch the U.S. men’s team take on Australia with a crowd, leading him to come over to the Fan Festival.

International soccer supporters, be warned — clothe the Rocky statue at your own risk.

The fans of the Ecuadorian national team learned Sunday what many NFL fans already know about draping their colors over the statue of Rocky on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Ecuadorian supporters fitted Rocky with a yellow La Tri kit, then saw their team concede a 90th-minute winner in its FIFA World Cup group-stage opener against Ivory Coast on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field (aka Philadelphia Stadium).

There was no surprise news about Christian Pulisic from U.S. men’s soccer team manager Mauricio Pochettino in his news conference before Friday’s game against Australia (3 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62). Pochettino did not rule the star playmaker in or out, and that was not surprising.

“As you know, he was training in an individual way the whole week,” Pochettino said. “But like always, I think tonight, the day before the game, we have a meeting with our medical area, and we will assess the whole group, the players, and tomorrow we will communicate all the things that we can agree tonight.”

Pulisic was seen briefly at the start of Thursday’s practice, then headed off to work on his own. When he arrived, he wasn’t wearing the sleeve over his injured left calf that he sported on Wednesday. But after a few minutes, he sat down on a bench by the sideline and put it on.

Philadelphia was the star during its first 2026 World Cup match, which featured an Ivory Coast upset in front of a re-branding Lincoln Financal Field filled with Ecuador fans.

Philadelphia Stadium, as it's called during the tournament, will host five more World Cup games, including a Round of 16 matchup on July 4.

It’s highly unlikely the U.S. will end up in Philly for that game, but it’s not impossible. Here’s what would need to happen.