OAKLAND, California -- You could have picked it as soon as the FIFA World Cup draw was done last year. The Socceroos' game against the United States has arrived, and it looms as the most hyped game in their history. And it's shaping that way regardless of what kind of footballing theatregoer one happens to be.
Both nations won their opening games of this World Cup in a manner generating excitement, the Australians recording a 2-0 upset win over Türkiye and the Americans banking a thumping 4-1 victory over Paraguay. Shaking off the pressure of being hosts, the USMNT's performance was of such a level that it generated discussion whether it was their greatest, while Tony Popovic made two huge selection gambles with his XI and was rewarded with one of the best defensive performances any nation has put in at a World Cup in recent memory.
This means the pair heads to Seattle level on points atop Group D, with a win on Friday able to punch their tickets to the knockout stages and all but secure them top spot in the group, which, nominally, carries a more straightforward, West Coast-based path through the latter stages of the tournament.
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Adding to the intrigue is a will-he-or-won't-he narrative surrounding the status of American talisman Christian Pulisic, who trained separately from the main squad during their session on Wednesday morning. It's a good old-fashioned fitness crisis heading into a big game -- just as the Socceroos had last week with Mohamed Touré -- and will be intimately familiar to any follower of Australian football sent into a tailspin by Sam Kerr being ruled out of the Matildas' opening two games of the 2023 Women's World Cup -- with a calf issue, to boot!
The stakes, therefore, are significant, even without any kind of window dressing.
But don't worry, there's been plenty of window dressing, too. An almost egregious amount of it.
For much of the discourse surrounding this clash hasn't centred on how the Americans will penetrate an Australian defence content to sit low and clog up space. It hasn't discussed how the Australians will be able to manage the USMNT's counter-press and get the ball forward to their difference-makers in attack. Nor has it given significant attention to how Tim Ream and the American backline will be able to keep up with the likes of Touré, Nestory Irankunda, and Co.
Instead, a war of words has broken out between the two nations' punditry classes -- instigated by the American commentariat but being returned with increasing enthusiasm by their Australian counterparts -- and has seemingly been designed to tap into the base instincts of dismissal, tribalism, and the underdog mentality that lives in all sporting fans.
The fighting words are almost certainly going to matched by physicality on the pitch. Both of these teams have reached a level where they can be considered far more than just pace and power merchants, but it's just a fact that they are also two of the most physically gifted sides at the World Cup, with the sheer size dominance the Australian defence had over Türkiye a significant factor in their win. Further, with the likes of Chris Richards and Cameron Burgess leading the way, both possess fearsome competitors that won't take a backward step, especially after the bruising nature of their meeting with the USA in Denver last October.
Beyond that, though? How much of the gallery's discussions are making their way backstage? It's always difficult to figure out just how much players buy into the narratives that are confected around their games these days. Entire media departments are devoted to making sure they never say anything that they're not supposed to, so that whenever they're asked about anything approaching something remotely confrontational, players are usually able to respond with platitudes that absolutely cannot end up on an opponent's dressing room wall.
This week, for instance, Alessandro Circati revealed he and Pulisic "were mates," while Timothy Weah rolled his eyes when told about remarks that Australia was a "layup" on Tuesday before saying: "It's going to be a lovely game. I don't know what the media is trying to do, but we're not really focused on that."
Indeed, there's simply so much noise out there, and an increasing amount of it tailored to serve an algorithm that rewards outrage, that you feel it, on some level, cancels itself out, especially when partnered with the demands of training, playing and recovering for a World Cup. If you're a Circati or Harry Souttar, for instance, do you really have time to worry about a pundit whose authority rests upon a career that never came close to yours? Especially when you'd be doing so at the same time you're trying to meet the exacting and elite demands that Popovic has for his squad? You'd get, well, sick of it.
But we also know for a fact that Hakan Çalhanoğlu's remarks that Türkiye would "dominate" the Australians were used as motivation by Popovic's side. And one of the reasons that the modern athlete is so drilled about what not to say in public is because they are of a breed in which nearly anything can be twisted, turned, or outright manufactured into a source of motivation -- just observe how many teams or athletes, no matter how well resourced or credentialled they are, try to run an underdog gimmick.
So even if it's not front of mind right now, to try and pretend that labels of "layup" and "average," or thanks to the "football gods," won't play a role is silly. Popovic and Co. no doubt have a few choice clips to get the Socceroos raging come game-time.
Perhaps a victorious fanbase will take bragging rights on Friday. They'll probably get pretty toxic with it, too, because that's seemingly how it goes these days, and pundits will likely do a marathon-length victory lap. Australia will probably do that with a draw, too, given that most neutrals would have them as the outsider.
But more importantly, in the context of the World Cup, by the time Friday's match is over, one nation -- maybe both, if the outcome is a draw -- will have taken a significant step towards doing truly something special in 2026.
Australia's group-stage match against the United States kicks-off at 5 a.m. AEST on Saturday. Click here for a full guide on how to watch the Socceroos.