USA vs. Turkey Preview
What will US look like with top spot already secure?
The USMNT has taken care of business so far at this World Cup. They’ve done that with a 4-1 opening win against Paraguay and then a 2-0 win over Australia. They’ve taken care of business so well, in fact, that they have wrapped up the top spot in Group D with a game to spare. And now they have a stress-free (mostly) group stage finale against a Turkey team that has already been eliminated from the tournament.
After demolishing Paraguay in their opening game of the World Cup, there was concern that the US would be unable to replicate it in their second group stage game against Australia. Compounding the stress was the news that Christian Pulisic would not be in the squad for the Australia game, after he was subbed out against Paraguay at halftime with an injury. But the US fans need not have worried as Folarin Balogun picked up right where he left off against Paraguay and it was his play that forced an own goal out of the Socceroos early in the game (a second straight game where the US has benefitted from an own goal). Things got better before halftime as Alex Freeman headed home from close range to give the US a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
The key question now for the USMNT and coach Mauricio Pochettino is what to do for this final group game against Turkey. Does he roll out the same lineup that has gotten them to this point, or does he rotate the squad to avoid injuries to key players and avoid potential yellow card accumulation suspensions? And what of the health of Christian Pulisic. Well, Pochettino provided answers to those questions on Wednesday. First and foremost, Christian Pulisic has said that he is healthy and ready to go against Turkey. Additionally, Pochettino has said that the plan is to have the four players with yellow cards (Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, and Antonee Robinson) sit for the game against Turkey. What that means for who will play in their place is unclear, but what is clear is that Pochettino is taking a pragmatic approach and playing it smart by keeping his best players out of harm’s way. But it would be foolish to assume that the US is not taking this game seriously or is coming in unprepared as Pochettino has said the US cannot take their foot off the gas and need to win the game.
When the draw for this World Cup was held in December, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Turkey would be the best team in the group. After all, they went to the quarterfinals at Euro 2024 and have a host of players playing for the best clubs in the world: Zeki Celik at AS Roma, Salih Ozcan at Borussia Dortmund, Arda Guler at Real Madrid, Hakan Calhanoglu at Inter Milan, and Deniz Gul at Porto. They first had to get through the European qualifying playoffs, which they did with a 1-0 win against Romania in Istanbul and a 1-0 win away to Kosovo. They also looked decent in their two pre-World Cup friendlies with a 4-0 home win over North Macedonia and a 2-1 win against Haiti in Ft. Lauderdale. But they have been a disaster at this World Cup, having lost their first two games and already being eliminated before they play their third game. In their first game against Australia, they had the lion’s share of the possession and had substantially more shots than the Aussies but wound up losing 2-0. Their second game against Paraguay was not quite the same script but was the same result as they had a man advance for nearly an entire half (after Miguel Almiron was sent off and shown a red card) but still couldn’t manage to score and lost 1-0. With nothing left to play for but pride against the US, it remains an unknown what kind of vigor and effort the Turks will play with in LA on Thursday night.
Notes:
1. Coming into this game against Turkey, the USMNT has lost nine straight games against European teams and is winless in eleven straight. The last US win over a European team was a friendly against Bosnia & Herzegovina in December 2021.
2. Thursday’s game against Turkey is the seventh World Cup game on home soil for the US and will be the fifth of those seven played in California.
When, Where
Date: Thursday, June 25, 2026
Stadium: SoFi Stadium
City: Los Angeles, CA
Time: 10pm ET
TV: FOX
All-Time Series
Series tied 2-2-1
Last Meeting
Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025
Stadium: Pratt & Whitney Stadium
City: East Hartford, CT
Attendance: 34,023
Result: USA 1-2 Turkey
Current FIFA Ranking
USA: 14
Turkey: 32
Next Game
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Competition: World Cup
Match-Up: USA vs. TBD
Stadium: Levi’s Stadium
City: Santa Clara, CA
Time: 8pm ET
TV: FOX
Photo Credit: US Soccer via Twitter