Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes the millions of Americans supporting the USA team across the United States can power Mauricio Pochettino’s men to World Cup glory.
USA surged past Australia 2-0 in Seattle on Friday afternoon thanks to an early own goal from Australian defender Cameron Burgess and then a brave header by wing back Alex Freeman, which needed to be confirmed by a video replay.
The win was historic – it is the first time since 1930 that the USA have won two straight World Cup games and it secures their place in the last-32 knockout round with a group game to spare.
Furthermore, thousands of fans packed the Seattle Stadium to cheer Pochettino’s players to victory and as World Cup fever picks up across the country, Ibrahimovic says the US team could be on to something special.
‘If you didn’t believe before, I will repeat; start believing,’ Ibrahimovic said on Fox shortly after the USA victory.
‘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 today.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he believes the United States can win the World Cup this summer
The co-hosts have reached the last-32 after Friday’s 2-0 victory against Australia
Fans have been going crazy across the United States as they cheer the team on in the event
‘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.’
Asked by Rebecca Lowe to give a one-word answer on if the United States could win the World Cup, the legendary striker said: ‘Yes.’
Pochettino’s team emerged victorious without their star man, Christian Pulisic, taking to the field due to a minor calf issue.
It remains to be seen if he will be available for the final group game against Turkey in Los Angeles next Thursday – as Ibrahimovic said, with qualification secure there is less pressure on Pulisic to be available.
But a victory for the US is still needed, even if they will now advance regardless of that result. A win will clinch top spot in their group and set up a knockout game against a third-place opponent.
If they finish second, they risk a trickier showdown against European heavyweights Belgium.
Argentine coach Pochettino echoed Ibrahimovic’s words on the power of the American fans, saying after the game: ‘I think it was a fantastic game again, very good first half. I think we dominated the game against a very tough team.
Alex Freeman scored a brave header to put the United States 2-0 up against Australia
After a video replay confirmed the goal, the team erupted into a wild celebration on the field
‘I was saying yesterday Argentina have amazing fans, but I think we are matching Argentina. Our fans, I’m so happy for them.’
Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, played most of his iconic career in Europe with giants such as Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan.
He did have a brief spell in Major League Soccer, however, with Los Angeles Galaxy.
As exciting as his time was in California, it was nothing compared to the scenes that followed the United States win on Friday.
The Fox crew on the ground in Seattle – which included Ibrahimovic’s colleague and nemesis Alexi Lalas – were practically drowned out in their post-game analysis by thousands of American fans chanting in the background.
