U.S. Concludes Group Stage Play
The U.S. men’s national team concluded its World Cup group stage play with a 3-2 loss to Türkiye on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Despite the defeat, the U.S. had already secured its advancement to the Round of 32, having won its first two matches in the tournament.
The match saw a dramatic finish, with Türkiye scoring the winning goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Substitute Kaan Ayhan poked the ball into the net on the final touch of the game, securing Türkiye‘s only win of the World Cup. This result marked the first loss for the U.S. in the tournament.
The U.S. had taken an early lead, scoring within the first three minutes of the match. Auston Trusty scored his first international goal at 134 seconds, making it the second fastest goal after Clint Dempsey‘s in 2014. However, Türkiye quickly responded, scoring its first goal of the 2026 World Cup shortly after. Arda Güler was central to Türkiye‘s offensive efforts, combining with teammates to create scoring opportunities.
Lineup Changes and Player Returns
For the group stage finale, the U.S. rotated its squad, leaving out most of its first-choice players, including Christian Pulisic, from the starting lineup. This decision was partly due to four starters, including Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards, and Folarin Balogun, having received yellow cards in the first two matches. A second yellow card would have resulted in a suspension for the Round of 32, though group-stage yellow cards are erased after the third match.
Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi were the only starting players from the previous 2-0 win over Australia to retain their spots. New starters for the match included goalkeeper Matt Turner; defenders Trusty, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, and Joe Scally; midfielders Sebastian Berhalter and Gio Reyna; and wingers Brenden Aaronson and Tim Weah. Turner, Miles Robinson, McKenzie, and Aaronson had not played any minutes in the first two matches.
Pulisic, who had sustained a calf injury in the opening match and sat out the second, entered the game in the 58th minute to a strong ovation. He threatened to score multiple times after his substitution. Defensive midfielder Cristian Roldan, however, was ruled out of the match due to a strained quadriceps and had not trained throughout the week. With Roldan unavailable, McKennie moved into a deeper midfield role.
Match Dynamics and Knockout Stage Outlook
The U.S. initially scored early, but Türkiye did not falter. Türkiye equalized in the eighth minute, with Barış Alper-Yilmaz scoring after a play involving Arda Güler. Later, Türkiye took the lead through Orkun Kökçü, who redirected a cross into the far corner. The U.S. found an equalizer in the second half when Sebastian Berhalter scored a powerful one-timer from the top of the box, leveling the match.
Despite the late loss, the U.S. had already secured its spot in the knockout stage, a feat achieved after only two matches, which is unusual for the team since its return to the World Cup in 1990. The team’s performance in the group stage has been described as its best in the modern era. Türkiye, on the other hand, had been a pre-tournament threat to win the group but had fallen out of contention after losses to Australia and Paraguay without scoring a goal before this match.
The U.S. will now turn its attention to the Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for Wednesday in Santa Clara, California. Bosnia and Herzegovina finished third in Group B with a 1-1-1 record. The U.S. men’s team has only won a single knockout-stage match in all its World Cup appearances, which was a 2-0 victory over Mexico in 2002.
In the 90th minute of the match against Türkiye, Auston Trusty sustained a left ankle injury. He returned to the field after medical attention, with the team playing shorthanded as all substitutes had been used.
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Source: sports.yahoo.com
