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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Jack Snape in Oakland

Forget the confected World Cup hostility, the US and Australia mirror each other

United States World Cup Australia Soccer Football Group D Socceroos John Shea The United States
Socceroos attacker Nestory Irankunda and USA defender Miles Robinson collide in an international friendly football match in Colorado
Australia and the USA clashed in a heated friendly last year but the hyperbole around their 2026 World Cup match ignores the status soccer holds in each country. Photograph: Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images

Listen to the hyperbole spewed by the loudest voices, and the World Cup clash between co-hosts the United States and Australia in Seattle is the latest contest in a heated sporting rivalry streaked with disrespect and even downright hate.

Indeed, the sometimes spiteful clash between the teams in a friendly last year serves as a preview for what is now one of the marquee matches in the pool stage, and set to determine the winner of Group D.

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