INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Few could fault U.S. men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino for being as obvious as possible with his heavily-rotated team for Thursday’s game against Turkiye, even if it was a bit comical upon first glance. Then again, the concept of a dead rubber game at a World Cup, where the stakes are as high as they could ever be, is hilarious in its own right. It is fitting, then, that the USMNT’s defense was also funny in its own right, a batch of mistakes ensuring the team would come out with a 3-2 defeat in a game that offered a strange pause to the upward momentum the tournament co-hosts had otherwise experienced.
Things seemed to be off to a strong start when Auston Trusty, in his first World Cup start, notched his first World Cup goal just three minutes in. Even with nine changes to the team that started in the 2-0 win over Australia on Friday, the group seemed to be embodying Pochettino’s high-intensity ethos – they did outshoot Turkiye eight to four in the first half, dominating the early stretch of the game fully. Sebastian Berhalter’s assist on Trusty’s goal also offered further validation for Pochettino’s roster selections; the midfielder’s set-piece prowess is his greatest strength.
It all unraveled fairly quickly, though. Center back Mark McKenzie – another first-time World Cup starter – was unimpressive on Adra Guler’s goal in the 10th minute, as was goalkeeper understudy Matt Turner. About 20 minutes later, it was Joe Scally’s turn to look unfit for the job as Orkun Kokcu as he gave Turkiye a long-awaited lead.
Call It What You Want is your front-row seat as the USMNT takes center stage at the 2026 World Cup. The crew delivers live reactions, analysis, and debate before and after every game. Catch new episodes live on the Golazo America YouTube channel
That trio was far from the only unimpressive figures for the USMNT on Thursday at SoFi Stadium. Tim Weah did little to make a case for himself as a starter, nearly four years removed from being the USMNT’s starter on the left wing, almost nonexistent on the pitch along with the other starters in attack. The intensity they started with faded before the hydration break midway through the first half, both teams almost ending the first 45 minutes in listless form.
“Certain times maybe we could have controlled the game a little bit better and they maybe just got the ball better in their half,” Berhalter said post-match. “First half felt like we were a little bit all over the place, maybe too many guys behind the ball and not enough in front of the ball.”
If it was a good game for anyone, though, it was for the frequent starters who took in the first half from the bench. Not a single person who replaced them bolstered their argument to enter the lineup when Wednesday’s round of 32 game comes around. The loss to Turkiye was far from entertaining, at times uninspiring but also offered a stark reminder that the USMNT are one team with their best players and an entirely different team without them, their bench perhaps not as deep as it had seemed in the wins over Paraguay and Australia.
It is not an actual surprise, either – Pochettino’s USMNT struggled in the build-up to the World Cup in large part because he was always missing a key starter or two. The U.S. can survive Christian Pulisic’s absence, much as it did against Australia, but that is because the rest of their mainstays were in place. Defender Chris Richards and midfielder Tyler Adams remain as irreplaceable as anybody but so many other players hold singular roles on this national team, it turns out. Sergino Dest’s dynamism on the wing is hard to replicate; Folarin Balogun keeps opposition defenders busy in a way few of his teammates can; even Tim Ream, the elder statesman who draws the ire of the fanbase on the regular, offers more stability than the players who usually sit on the bench in his place.
Even amidst all that mediocrity, though, there is little reason to reduce the sense of optimism that this team carried into their Group D finale. None of these players missed Thursday’s game by force. They simply got the night off, a chance to take a breather before an all-important game, and now without the burden of yellow cards that could get them suspended for a subsequent game. Some of the starters against Turkiye are also more likely to plug themselves in nicely to a full-strength team – Ricardo Pepi proved against Australia that he serves a real function as a pressing forward, while Gio Reyna’s substitute appearance and goal against Paraguay offered a reminder that he is still a talented player with a unique skillset in the U.S. player pool.
The reminder came during the game, too. Christian Pulisic’s entrance in the 58th minute was not only a welcome sight for a player who missed the Australia game with a calf issue but almost rejuvenated the U.S. team on his own. Within minutes of coming on for Weah, he sped down the left flank and created a chance that Brenden Aaronson attempted to capitalize on. Whether it was single-handedly down to his conclusion or the result of a mentality shift, the USMNT’s multi-pronged press seemed to return when Pulisic did. They had a batch of chances in the minutes after his substitution, looking more like the team that clinched top spot in the group a week ago.
“I think [it] was important for him to get the feelings again after not [being] available for Australia,” Pochettino said. “I think one of the objectives in that game not only was to win, [it was] to provide Christian in between 30 and 40 minutes to get the feeling to be ready for the next game. That is important, too. Yes, happy because I think he finished well and I think it was a good impact when he was on the pitch.”
It paved the way for a redemption arc of sorts in the second half, during which they went on to outshoot Turkiye 10-4 and limited the opponents two shots on target, a return to form for the team that set a World Cup record for most shots taken without scoring. Berhalter also stood out even in a mixed bag of a game for the group. He is not exactly amongst the caliber of the USMNT’s starters in midfield but he is an incredibly useful player regardless, his meteoric rise justified roughly a year after he earned his first cap. Trusty’s goal was one example in his expertise on dead-ball situations and Berhalter’s equalizer in the 49th minute another – that play also started on a set piece but he really can hit a ball expertly and did just that, all while becoming the USMNT’s first player ever to get a goal and an assist in a World Cup game.
“We were a little bit back and forth in the first half and lost a little bit of our control,” Berhalter noted, “but I think we got more numbers ahead of the ball instead of behind the ball and found good pockets for returning and playing balls in behind and I think that’s what we need and it was a good response.”
A host of the USMNT’s usual starters also got on the field eventually, hoping to solve problems in a way that is true to Pochettino’s attack-minded ethos. Dest and Alex Freeman each got around 15 minutes towards the end, while Malik Tillman came on with five minutes to go plus stoppage time, perhaps enough of a run to ensure their legs do not get too cold before next week’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I think when I came in today, we saw how the left side was,” Freeman said. “Joe Scally was going high a lot and I feel like he was very good [at] attacking, very good [at] defending, but the left winger was staying high and coach put me in and told me to be aware of that and just make sure that I’d be aware of that but I also can choose my moments to go up and help the attack as well. I think those instructions were what I’ve been used to in the past two games as well so I think for now it was just him telling me exactly what I need to do and me just going out and making an impact.”
There was one final reminder that a roared version of the USMNT were taking part in this game rather than the real deal, however. Arda Guler kicked off a play and a sustained round of pressure ensured Kaan Ayhan would score with the final kick of the game, the prospect of a cheery group stage finale already dashed for the World Cup co-hosts but officially gone with one fell swoop.
The uneven outing, though, also rings true to the USMNT’s identity under Pochettino, no matter who is in the starting lineup. This team is not known for their defensive traits but will be carried by a group of talented attackers, several who are in career-best form, all of whom are a perfect fit for a coach who has always valued an offense-first approach. It worked at times on Thursday, if not for the entirety of the 90-minute game, which is somewhat encouraging in its own right. Coupled with the team’s recent performances, both at the World Cup and their final pre-tournament friendlies, it is more than enough to remind everyone that their aim of a statement-making run is still well on track.
The team believes as much, too.
“A way to move forward,” Trusty said. “Obviously, we were overwhelmingly positive throughout the group stage and we’re moving forward in a very good way. Obviously, going to this game, they really had nothing to play for and then guys got minutes to themselves to show their ability and that’s what we did and I think we played well. We had a lot of chances, didn’t go our way, and then to lose with the last-second goal, just unfortunate.”
