Seattle, June 20 (IANS) Australia coach Tony Popovic blamed a poor first-half display after the Socceroos suffered a 2-0 defeat to the United States in their second Group D match at the FIFA World Cup on Saturday.

Australia entered the contest with confidence following a surprise 2-0 victory over Türkiye in its tournament opener, but struggled to cope with the intensity of the Americans in front of a large crowd in Seattle.

The United States took the lead in the 11th minute when a cross from Folarin Balogun was turned into the net by Australian defender Cameron Burgess. Alex Freeman doubled the advantage shortly before halftime, leaving the Socceroos facing an uphill battle.

Although Australia showed greater urgency after the break and enjoyed more possession in attacking areas, it was unable to find a way back into the match as the Americans secured their second consecutive victory and booked a place in the knockout stage.

Popovic said the outcome was largely decided during a disappointing opening 45 minutes.

“Their quality is clear, their power is clear, their athleticism is clear,” Popovic told reporters. “We didn’t match that in the first half. We found it difficult to win challenges and second balls.”

“We were slow to every ball and couldn’t really regain any momentum. We conceded a couple of soft goals and looked flat and lethargic in the first half.”

The Australian coach made three substitutions at halftime and was encouraged by the response from his players

“You can easily cave in under that type of pressure, physically and emotionally, but the players responded extremely well,” he said. “The second half was much better. It would have been nice to get a goal and see what happened from there, but I was pleased with the reaction.”

The defeat left Australia on three points from two matches and facing a crucial final group game against Paraguay on June 25. The United States moved to six points and became one of the first teams to secure a place in the round of 32.

Despite the setback, Popovic said his side remained firmly in contention for qualification.

“We have to recover, learn from this performance and be ready for the next game,” he said. “There is still a lot to play for.”

–IANS

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