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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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After consecutive wins at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, many people believe the United States Men's National Team is a legitimate contender to win the event they are co-hosting.
The USMNT opened their Group D matches last Friday night, dazzling the crowd at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles with a 4-1 win over Paraguay. A week later, the team followed that up with a 2-0 victory over Australia to qualify for the knockout round.
An own goal arrived 11 minutes into the first half from a deflection by Australia's Cameron Burgess, making it 1-0 in favor of the home team. Alex Freeman put the USMNT ahead 2-0 at the 43-minute mark with a header right near the goal.
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After VAR reviewed the initially disallowed goal, the United States celebrated Freeman's first World Cup goal and a decent lead heading into halftime.
More news: Alex Freeman’s USMNT Goal Against Australia Was ‘Full-Circle Family Moment’
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That lead would hold strong through the second half as the two teams attempted to score, but neither could make anything happen. However, the USMNT was content to keep things scoreless and celebrated a 2-0 victory, which continued their Group D lead.
It was the first time the team won its first two games at the World Cup in 96 years, and they will now await the results of Group D's second match of the day between Paraguay and Turkiye to see if they win the group.
And many people fully believe this is a USMNT that not only can advance deep into the World Cup's tournament, but win the entire thing, which Canada and Mexico are also co-hosting. Fans watching have to believe this team looks like one of the strongest in recent memory.
Include defender Chris Richards among those who are believers, as he made a strong statement about this team heading towards future matches.
"I don't think it's ridiculous to say that we want to win it. Obviously, we have a lot more games before we get to that moment, but you know, we take it one game at a time," he said per ESPN. "We want to lift a trophy by the end of this."
The United States Men's National Team has never advanced past the quarterfinals, which is the farthest they got in 2002. However, being one of the host countries for this year's event has certainly been a significant boost. The crowd at Lumen Field in Seattle was fully supportive with loud "USA" chants and even singing "Sweet Country Road" after the victory.
Next up, the United States takes on Turkiye on Friday, June 26, in a return to Los Angeles's SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL's Rams.
More news: Cristiano Ronaldo Sends Clear Message After Portugal Draw With Congo DR
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