Socceroos focus on actions, US won’t be overconfident

Anna Harrington | June 16, 2026

The Socceroos are ready to silence their American doubters with actions not words, as US players insist they won’t get caught out like “overconfident” Turkey.

Australia have one foot in the knockout stage after a brilliant opening 2-0 win over Turkey ahead of facing the co-hosts, who lead Group D after beating Paraguay 4-1 first-up, in Seattle on Friday (5am Saturday AEST).

Tensions have been simmering since December’s draw when American pundits started writing off Australia, including CBS pundit Mike Grella who described the fixture as a “lay-up” for Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

Ahead of the Turkey clash, Grella indicated it said something about Australia’s quality that Nestory Irankunda was their best player.

Irankunda then scored a wonderful goal and dazzled in that win.

“I did see it,” Irankunda said of Grella’s comments.

“But at the end of the day, you’ve got to let these people talk – and it was the same with these lot here (Turkey). 

“They came, they did their talking, but they couldn’t back it up on the field and we got the win.

“People can talk all they want but if they’re not going to put a performance out there on the pitch, then there’s no point in talking.

“We fight for each other, we play for each other and if these people want to keep talking, we’re just gonna play our best, we’re gonna stay focused and just try to win the game.”

Defender Aziz Behich said the Socceroos weren’t worrying about “fluff talk”.

“Whoever wants to talk, if they want to write us off – it’s not the first time,” Behich said.

If US pundits are happy to write off Australia, their players certainly aren’t.

“I don’t think any commentary helps anybody and no, it’s not gonna be a lay-up,” midfielder Tyler Adams said.

“If anything, it’s gonna be one of the most difficult games that we play.”

Forward Haji Wright added: “I think Turkey came into the game a bit overconfident, and I think we won’t make that same mistake.”

Adams described the Socceroos as “combative” and tactically sound while Wright pointed out Australia were tough to break down and dangerous on the counter.

Back in October, Wright scored a brace in a feisty 2-1 win over a physical and under-strength Socceroos in Colorado.

“I remember going to halftime, the coach wasn’t too happy with us letting them punch us in a way without punching back,” Wright said.

“I don’t think they take it too far. I think they’re aggressive and they’re competitive.

“They’re a lot like us actually – they’re not going to back down to anybody and we’ll respect that in the game coming, but I don’t think we’ll back down to them.”

Both Wright and Adams played down concerns over a calf issue to captain Christian Pulisic, who trained solo on Monday after he was withdrawn at halftime of the Paraguay match.

Socceroos staff won’t shield players from social media or commentary ahead of the game.

“We can’t baby them,” assistant Hayden Foxe said, noting it was natural for players to get emotional about such comments.

“Part of it’s how you control it – and they’re doing a very good job controlling their emotions and talking with their actions, which is fantastic.”

The Socceroos know the danger of getting ahead of themselves.

“It’s one game, and you winning the first game doesn’t dictate where you go in the tournament,” Foxe said.

“There was a good example of Saudi (Arabia) doing that in the past tournament, they beat Argentina first game … but you forget Saudi didn’t then get through the group stage. 

“So you can’t just focus on that win.”

Striker Mohamed Toure gave himself a scare when he went down cramping in his left calf late in the Turkey game, but Foxe said he was “OK”.