SEATTLE — The Avengers did it without Iron Man and Team USA did it without Captain America. 

The week of drama that ended with Christian Pulisic being declared out with a left calf injury 90 minutes before kickoff Friday ended up feeling irrelevant by the end of a roaring afternoon in Seattle.

The U.S. men’s national team didn’t need its best player to dispatch Australia 2-0, clinch passage into the Round of 32 and clinch the top spot in Group D, thanks to Paraguay’s 1-0 win over Turkey later in the night.

Friday marked the first time the U.S. men’s team has won consecutive games at a World Cup since 1930. 

From the way the USMNT never looked troubled to the sellout crowd belting the national anthem to the scenes in and around Seattle Thursday night into Friday, the momentum that started rolling last week in Inglewood feels like it has gained warp speed. The country is gathering behind this team, and the team is paying fans back in kind. 

“I’ve told these guys that this is the most fun, special, enjoyable group that I’ve been a part of,” 38-year-old captain Tim Ream said. “… There’s something about this one that just feels different. As long as we continue to enjoy ourselves, we’re going to be in a place where we want to be.” 

We knew coming in that the USMNT would dominate possession against a highly physical Australia side. Mauricio Pochettino threw a curveball, though, by replacing Pulisic with Ricardo Pepi, marking the first time under his tutelage the U.S. has played in a two-striker setup with Pepi and Folarin Balogun. 

It worked. The U.S. stretched Australia’s 5-4-1 formation, letting Weston McKennie rotate with Sergiño Dest on the right side while the two strikers took opportunities to get wide. Dest was splendid on the ball, taking every opportunity to show off his skill and making up for Pulisic’s absence. 

It was Balogun, though, who created the Americans’ opener 11 minutes in, sprinting past his man on the left-side channel and playing a ball in for Pepi. Instead of reaching its target, Australia’s Cameron Burgess knocked the ball into his own net before Pepi could touch it. 

Right before halftime, a VAR intervention helped the Americans double the lead. After heading in Dest’s deflected shot from the top of the box, Alex Freeman was initially declared offside. The review showed he was onside when the ball was played, and the 21-year-old Freeman — who didn’t have a single USMNT cap until last June — sprinted to the opposite corner, mobbed by the bench. 

The joyous scene played out against the backdrop of what was arguably the best crowd ever seen at a U.S. soccer match. Seattle, a soccer-loving city, lived up to its billing. The press box shook with every goal, and at the final whistle, the crowd boomed into “Country Roads,” with players singing along. 

“Even if I’m not American, after the game, I was emotional,” Pochettino said, “because I think the atmosphere was amazing. The fans were amazing.” 

If there was a complaint to be had, it’s that the U.S. seemed to play a little more passively in the second half, albeit while playing with a two-goal lead that Australia never had the horses to match. Indeed, even while playing defense for much of the second half, the U.S. kept a clean sheet for the first time since a Sept. 9 friendly against Japan. 

The Socceroos physicality, a storyline coming into the match, did indeed create some issues. Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards and Balogun all picked up yellow cards; Freeman was repeatedly on the wrong end of borderline challenges, four different Aussies were booked as well. After clinching, though, all four Americans on a yellow — those three plus Tyler Adams — can sit against Turkey next week, as can Pulisic if he’s anything less than 100 percent.

“We expected it,” Richards said. “We saw it in the fall. We expected it, but at the end of the day, whoever scores the most goals wins the game. We took care of business.” 

Australian coach Tony Popovic’s decision to bench Nestory Irankunda, the speedy attacker who scored against Turkey, was bizarre in the moment and the mistake was tacitly admitted when Irankunda came on at halftime. 

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Pochettino, by contrast, hit every note perfectly. He’s gambled repeatedly both in the yearlong lead-up to this World Cup and during it; playing Pepi alongside Balogun was only the latest. 

He keeps on getting it right. 

The Americans were semifinalists 96 years ago in Montevideo, their best-ever result at a World Cup. 

“It’s not changed too much, my view, my dreams,” Pochettino said. 

A nation is dreaming now, right along with him.