The Australia national team has been a target for criticism and belittling from members of the American soccer media since the December day the Socceroos were drawn into World Cup Group D alongside Paraguay, Türkiye, and tournament co-hosts the United States.
Shortly after that World Cup draw, USMNT legend Landon Donovan decided to accuse Socceroos coach Tony Popovic of being "smug" because Popovic said he was "satisfied" with Australia's group. Donovan went on to say he thought the Aussies were "a team I think we should beat" and had them finishing in fourth place and not advancing from the group.
That's merely the tip of the proverbial American pundit iceberg as it pertains to Australia. The headliner, in terms of Americans giving Australia additional external motivation, was former Major League Soccer player turned CBS Sports commentator Mike Grella.
Grella, the former Red Bull New York midfielder, has been flaming the Socceroos for months, saying the USMNT should view their second group match as a "lay-up," and quoted as saying, "I’m not kidding though when I say this, what are they drinking over there, because they have no shot of doing anything at the World Cup. They are the weakest team in the group...There’s no shot Australia can compete with the US."
His comments have created something close to an international incident, in part because Grella keeps doubling down on them, recently saying that Australia should erect a statue of him if they continue their underdog run beyond the World Cup's group stage, given how much motivation he's provided by dumping on the Socceroos at every given opportunity.
From Grella at CBS Sports over to Fox Sports, where Alexi Lalas, before he got to spend the World Cup getting roasted live on air by Zlatan Ibrahimović, celebrated the World Cup draw in December by telling American soccer fans, "If you believe in the soccer gods, you should be thanking them. This is not just a good group, this is a great group."
Lalas would back up his comments in a more recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald while saying of the Socceroos, "This is an average team by any measure, and certainly not a great team." Lalas also trolled further and encouraged Australia to use his criticisms as motivation, requesting that they be taped up in the Socceroos' locker room.
That's three particularly loud voices in the American soccer pundit-sphere showing zero hesitation to trash Australia. What accounts for this bombastic, sensational level of criticism directed at the Socceroos? Is this just a side effect of our current sports media ecosystem in the United States that rewards controversy and sensational criticism and hot takes over nuanced analysis and discussion?
Yes, this is all absolutely a side effect of sports pundit-brain, but there are multiple other factors to consider, one of them being that this is a rare World Cup opponent that doesn't feel too different from the United States men's national team itself.
The US and Australia are two of the only nations that call it "soccer," and each country has a domestic soccer league that's nowhere close to the most popular professional sports league in each country.
Australia's A-League and MLS each suffer from image and perception problems at home and abroad, and each national team plays with a chip on its shoulder, looked down upon by supposed bigger soccer nations from Europe, or South America, or Asia, wherever it may be. Maybe the American pundits have looked at Australia's national team and the position it holds domestically and internationally, and it's been a bit too much like looking in a mirror for them.
The USMNT and Australia aren't too far apart in terms of performance, given Australia is the No 23-ranked country in the latest ELO Ratings, with the USMNT a few spots lower at No 28. The (faker) FIFA rankings have the United States 15th and Australia 23rd, so in the eyes of the national-team-rankings, the teams who will face off on Friday afternoon in Seattle, Washington, don't have a ton separating them.
Players don't take the bait
While American pundits have been fishing aggressively for attention, players on both sides of the USMNT and Australia divide have not engaged with any of the prematch noise.
Aiden O'Neill, the NYCFC midfielder who made his World Cup debut and played all 90 minutes in Australia's surprise 2-0 win over Türkiye, addressed the online chatter surrounding the USMNT-Australia match in his pre-match press conference held on Wednesday, June 17.
O'Neill said in that pre-match press conference, "Of course, we all have social media and we obviously see the comments, and there was comments before the the Türkiye game. So, I think we're quite okay with people commenting. We just go out and play our game."
O'Neill is referring to what Hakan Çalhanoğlu said before Türkiye opened their World Cup against Australia. Çalhanoğlu said of facing the Socceroos, "I think that we dominate tomorrow, the game, because we have more qualities and a more talented team."
Didn't work out that way for Çalhanoğlu and Türkiye, with Australia speedster and goalscorer Nestory Irankunda saying after the Türkiye match, "But at the end of the day, you’ve got to let these people talk – and it was the same with these lot here. They came, they did their talking, but they couldn’t back it on the field, and we got the win."
One thing separating the USMNT from both Türkiye and the American soccer punditry: The players have only spoken about the Socceroos respectfully and while acknowledging that Friday's second group match will be a tough one.
Tim Weah was quoted as saying, "All the talk is just nonsense to me. They’re a young team that has a lot of fight, a lot of grit and a lot of hunger, just like us. We respect them in the same way that we respect any other opponent." Tyler Adams, a former teammate of Mike Grella, rolled his eyes when presented with the concept of Australia being a "lay-up," instead saying "If anything, it’s going to be one of the most difficult games that we play."
About that Game: NYCFC-centric, expected to be feisty
Both Aiden O'Neill and Kai Trewin spoke before the United States game of the prospect that they'll go head-to-head with NYCFC teammate and USMNT starting goalkeeper, Matt Freese.
Neither O'Neill nor Trewin said much about going head-to-head against Freese, with Trewin saying, "There's lots of pressure for for him and and for the US obviously playing on home soil. So, I just wished him the best. I hope we get a positive result against them, but for the rest of the tournament, I wish him the best."
Trewin didn't play in the Australia win over Türkiye, but O'Neill did, partnering with 21-year-old midfielder Paul Okon Jr. en route to a surprise clean sheet and victory over the favored European nation. O'Neill downplayed any trash talk between club teammates in the build-up to USMNT vs Australia, instead saying they're all just excited to share the field at the World Cup. In his press conference, O'Neill said in part, "We're excited to play against each other. Obviously, he's a top keeper, Matt, and it would be good to get one up on him, that's for sure."
O'Neill and Freese faced off when the USMNT and Australia played a friendly in November 2025 in Denver, Colorado, a game the United States won 2-1, but one that was played at elevation and outside of the pressure-packed environment of the World Cup.
Australia has a very different style they approach matches with when compared to the USMNT's first opponents, Paraguay. Popovic's Socceroos deploy a five-at-the-back system with three giant-sized men at center-back, flanked by wing-backs, and with a willingness to cede possession of the ball, soak up pressure, but then hit teams on the counter when speedy attackers like Irankunda and Mo Touré can find openings behind teams' defensive lines.
It worked wonders against Türkiye, as Australia only had 28% possession but got eight saves from their debutant goalkeeper, Patrick Beach, and capitalized on their big chances, while Türkiye got increasingly frustrated while attempting 30 shots and getting nothing from it.
Australia's style is to be physical and almost impossible to play through, packing numbers behind the ball and frustrating team's talented attackers. It got physical and testy at times even when the USMNT and Australia played in a friendly, and the expectation heading into Friday in Seattle should be another testy, tight match that might get decided by one or two moments, from either side.
There's not a lot of love flowing between these two soccer nations heading into this game, but the United States and Australia also aren't too different. At many previous World Cups and against many other high-quality opponents, the USMNT deployed styles similar to Australia's tendency to go bunker-and-counter. These countries aren't so different when it comes to their men's national teams, and despite all the chatter from the press in the lead-up to this game, Aiden O'Neill thinks there's not any real animosity brewing between the nations.
"I think Americans actually love Aussies. I think that's, yeah, probably the general consensus," O'Neill said, though that might not apply between the hours of 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm ET on Friday, June 19, when the United States and Australia play this much-anticipated Group D match.
