The Socceroos have been brought back down to earth in brutal fashion at the World Cup, suffering a demoralising and costly 2-0 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.