US men's national soccer team beats Australia 2-0 in World Cup match, advances to 'knockout' rounds

The U.S. men's national soccer team on Friday defeated Australia 2-0 in FIFA World Cup play in Seattle to advance to the tournament's so-called "knockout rounds."

The U.S. has not won its group yet. But the victory Friday – which marked the first time since 1930 that the American men have won back-to-back World Cup matches – means they need only a draw in Thursday's match with Türkiye to ensure them topping the group and going to Santa Clara, California, for a round-of-32 match against a third-place team, according to ESPN.com.

The U.S. team started the tournament with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay. All four of the aforementioned teams are in the tournament's Group D.