They survived a 30-shot onslaught from Turkey. Now the Socceroos have the chance to finally answer the barrage of verbal shots fired by outspoken American pundits when they meet the US in their World Cup grudge match.

In December, patriotic commentators from the co-host’s nation made no attempt to hide their glee when Australia were drawn into the US group, coming out of a pot which also included 2018 cup runners-up Croatia and 2022 semifinalists Morocco.

And their dismissal of the Socceroos as any sort of threat has continued all the way through to the eve of their clash in Seattle on Saturday morning (Australian time), despite Tony Popovic’s side opening the tournament with a stunning 2-0 win over the more-fancied Turkey.

On a US broadcast of the draw, expert and former Major League Soccer player Mike Grella instantly declared the game between the sides would be a “lay-up” for the US and his subsequent and persistent doubling down on the comment has stamped his status as Australian soccer fans’ No.1 public enemy.

In an appearance on the massively-popular Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, Grella complained the blowback he had experienced had been “unbelievable”.

“They wear a yellow shirt — I think they’re getting themselves confused with Brazil or someone who’s won something in the past. They’ve never won anything,” Grella said.

“I look up what Australians are good at — I see cricket, I see rugby, maybe the outback.

“On Friday, I think they’re going to come up against a team which has a little bit more quality, and I think that we’ll see a US win.

“I think they’re in for a rude awakening. I think there’s going to be a massive reality check.”

American hopes of a deep run at their home World Cup have only grown after they opened their tournament with a 4-1 dispatching of Paraguay.

Alexi Lalas has also been forthcoming in his views on the “average” Socceroos — and the US legend, who won 97 caps for their national side, appears unbothered by the prospect of his comments being used as a source of motivation.

“I hope that they print it out. Make sure you spell my name correctly,” Lalas told the State of the Union podcast.

“I hope that it’s wallpaper all around the Australian dressing room, because they’re going to need all the help they can get.”

The Socceroos and the United States also do have recent history of ill-feeling, having played out a physical and feisty clash in Denver in October.

After the hosts came away with a 2-1 win, defender Chris Richards boasted he was ready to fight Australia’s players and they were “lucky it was a friendly”.

US players including former captain Tyler Adams and striker Haji Wright have expressed respectful views of the Socceroos in media commitments this week, but on Tuesday, midfielder Sebastian Berhalter warned: “We’re American, we don’t take s...”.

“Watching that game last year, you could see they were up for it,” Berhalter said.

“They were putting in challenges, and I think that’s one of the reasons (coach Mauricio Pochettino) had that half-time rant, and said, ‘these guys can’t kick us around.’ I think he was right.”

When Berhalter’s comments were put to Socceroos star Alessandro Circati, the Perth product refused to bite.

“We’re just out there to play a game of football to win and do our best, and it doesn’t matter what he said,” he said.

The US States have competed at World Cup finals since 1930, where they finished in third-place. But only once since then have they reached the quarterfinals, in 2002.

And while this year’s version of the US is the strongest they have sent to the tournament for some time — with a number of stars playing in top European leagues — there is now an injury cloud hanging over captain Christian Pulisic.