A comfortable 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle, coupled with Turkiye's 1-0 loss to 10-man Paraguay later in the day, confirmed the USA as Group D winner.

It is the second team to mathematically confirm its spot in the knockout stages at the tournament after fellow co-host Mexico, and will now face a third-place finisher in its Round of 32 tie on 2 July (AEST), at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.

Having routed Paraguay 4-1 in its first match, this is only the second time that United States has won back-to-back FIFA World Cup games, having only previously done so in its first two games of the inaugural 1930 tournament in Uruguay.

Its six goal-tally in 2026 is just one shy of its single-tournament record, having netted seven times in both 1930 and 2002.

When asked by Fox Sports US presenter Rebecca Lowe if the co-host could go all the way, former Sweden striker-turned pundit Ibrahimovic replied: "Yes.

"If you didn’t believe before, I will repeat; start believing.

"They have the country behind them, and when you have this support, it's difficult to beat you. They had a good performance today. To be honest, Australia was not a threat.

"I said it before, that whatever happened before the World Cup doesn't matter. It is important what happens now.

"Now, the momentum they have, that is what they need. They just need to continue bringing confidence from game to game.

"The third game, let's see what happens now. They can rest some players now that they have qualified. It is looking good."

There is nothing riding on the USA's final Group D game against Turkiye in Los Angeles on Friday (AEST), as Vincenzo Montella's side is already confirmed to finish bottom having lost first to Australia and then to 10-man Paraguay.