The USA entered this year's World Cup with high hopes but middling realistic expectations. After two thrilling wins for the host nation, even soccer-skeptical sports fans are boarding the bandwagon, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes.

• A 4-1 blowout against Paraguay and Friday's 2-0 win over Australia allowed USA to clinch Group D, even before this Thursday's game against Turkey (10 p.m. ET, Fox).

🥊 That means USA is definitely headed for the knockout round of 32. USA's first win-or-go-home match is set for July 1 in Santa Clara, Calif. Their opponent is TBD.

• The second win for the U.S. men's team came without Christian "Captain America" Pulisic, the star midfielder who was sidelined with a calf injury.
• He'll likely sit out the Turkey game too — no reason to risk further damage.

🥇Winning the group means USA will play against a third-place team from another group — potentially a big advantage.

• It also avoids a round-of-16 matchup against defending champs Argentina, The Washington Post notes.

🇺🇸 A deep USA run right around the country's 250th birthday would be an ideal summer kickoff.

• USA Today Sports columnist Nancy Armour sums up the vibes heading into the elimination round: "If you're not enchanted with the U.S. men's national team after their 2-0 win over Australia ... you're going to miss out on a whole lot of fun these next few weeks."
• Captain and veteran defender Tim Ream, at Friday's postgame press conference: "I've told these guys that this is the most fun, special, enjoyable group that I've been part of."

👀 Another team to watch: Cape Verde, whose draws against Spain and Uruguay are turning the World Cup first-timers into this year's Cinderella story.

• If they beat Saudi Arabia on Friday, they'll also move on to the knockout games.

Full schedule ... Learn USA's chant.

A top Nvidia exec says the company's next-gen AI hardware could largely defuse water-use concerns, Axios' Amy Harder reports.

• Data centers are facing pushback for their use of energy and water — and Nvidia's chips are helping drive the AI boom behind much of that demand.

🌡️ Nvidia's new coolant is a recirculated liquid mixture with water and propylene glycol, similar to the antifreeze in your car.

• It can run at temperatures up to 113°F, hotter than previous systems.

Data centers using the new coolant could shift away from much more water- and energy-intensive chilling tech.

• Josh Parker, Nvidia's chief sustainability officer, told Axios ahead of London Climate Action Week, which opened this weekend: "The water consumption challenge for data centers is largely solved."

🤔 Reality check: Adoption will depend on costs — which Nvidia declined to discuss.

• Go deeper ... Get Axios Future of Energy.

1. 🇬🇧 Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester who won a special election last week sending him back to Parliament, is expected to succeed outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer — possibly unchallenged. Go deeper.
2. 🐘 Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson says he's "out" of the Republican Party moving forward, arguing that the GOP no longer reflects his views. Go deeper.
3. 🚌 Former Spirit Airlines passengers are embracing bus travel as an alternative to the defunct carrier, The Wall Street Journal reports. Gift link.
4. 🕯️ Alan Greenspan, who died today at age 100, created the modern Federal Reserve — and with it the underpinnings of an era of American prosperity. Greenspan died from complications of Parkinson's disease, said his wife of 29 years, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell. More from Axios' Neil Irwin.

Did you ever notice that Santa is the same shape as a whale?

• Carvel, the 92-year-old standby for celebratory cake and ice cream, tells Axios' Kelly Tyko that Santa Claus and Fudgie the Whale start with the same cake mold.
• The mold is flipped upside down and redecorated depending on the season — an efficiency hack dating back to founder Tom Carvel.

The whale-shaped ice cream cake debuted in 1977 as a Father's Day exclusive — "to a whale of a dad" — and became one of Carvel's most enduring traditions.