UFC FREEDOM 250 | MONDAY 15 JUNE 10AM AEST | UFC Freedom 250 delivers a landmark night of fights from the White House, with Topuria vs Gaethje leading a stacked card celebrating America\u2019s 250th anniversary | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n Grella has made headlines in the lead-up to the tournament after saying the United States should \u201cstay home\u201d if they don\u2019t comfortably take care of the Socceroos, who are in Group D along with Turkiye and Paraguay.<\/p>\n The United States opened their World Cup campaign on Saturday with a dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay<\/a> and speaking before that game, Grella only further cemented his position as public enemy No.1 in Australia.<\/p>\n In fact, he even put his own pride on the line as he agreed to wear a Socceroos jersey if Australia beats the United States when the two sides face off in Seattle on June 20 (AEST).<\/p>\n Grella said on the CBS Sports Golazo Network that the blowback to his comments made him \u201cgo back and actually do more research\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI love Australians and I\u2019m like, maybe they\u2019re right. Then I go look at their team and I don\u2019t recognise any players in the team,\u201d the former United States footballer added.<\/p>\n FULL 2026 WORLD CUP SCHEDULE WITH AUSTRALIAN TIMES AND DATES<\/a><\/p>\n Popovic facing big selection calls | 03:16<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not kidding though when I say this, what are they drinking over there because they have no shot of doing anything at the World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are the weakest team in the group. The US, although they have their weaknesses… they have like eight players in the Champions League and some of the top clubs in Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no shot Australia can compete with the US. The only way they can play is in defence and try to keep it 0-0 and that\u2019s the only way.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s levels\u2026 there\u2019s levels of quality. The US has players that play week in, week out in Europe and Australia does not.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n Grella isn\u2019t the only US pundit to feel that way, with Australia given plenty of bulletin board material<\/a> ahead of Sunday\u2019s tournament opener against Turkiye, which begins at 2pm AEST.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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