The Socceroos have been brought back down to earth in brutal fashion, suffering a demoralising and costly 2-0 World Cup defeat to the United States.
Australia's hopes of progression and sealing a top-two berth will come down to their final group match against Paraguay on June 25 (June 26 AEST) after a nightmare afternoon at Seattle Stadium on Friday.
Coach Tony Popovic's call to bench Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, who scored in Australia's opening 2-0 win over Turkey, for Nishan Velupillay and Mathew Leckie backfired as the US dominated.
The US, without injured star Christian Pulisic, battered Australia all day and took the lead in the 11th minute through a Cameron Burgess own goal.
Alex Freeman dealt the Socceroos a hammer blow by bundling home a header - that was initially ruled offside but cleared by VAR - to double the co-hosts' lead in the 43rd.
