USMNT lost 3-2 to Turkey, in meaningless group match, shifts focus to Round of 32 matchup against Bosnia
The USMNT lost 3-2 to Turkey on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium in a game that was so meaningless that Pochettino started nine different players from the lineup that beat Australia five days earlier and treated the whole thing like a glorified preseason scrimmage where the primary objective was keeping legs fresh and getting minutes into guys who hadn’t played rather than actually trying to win a soccer match.
The group was locked up, first place was secured, Turkey had already been eliminated from the tournament after losing their first two matches, and the only people in the building who cared about the result were the Turkish fans who needed something to celebrate after a World Cup campaign that was over before it started.
I wanted the win because I always want the win and watching the USMNT lose to anyone at any time for any reason on home soil during a World Cup irritates me on a level that transcends whether the game matters in the standings.
Losing to Turkey in the final group stage match after dominating Paraguay 4-1 and shutting out Australia 2-0 leaves a bad taste regardless of the context because the USMNT had a chance to go 3-0 in group play for the first time in program history and instead gave Turkey their only win of the tournament in the eighth minute of stoppage time on a goal that never should have happened if the backline had been paying attention.
But in the grand scheme of things, the loss changes nothing about where the USMNT stands heading into the knockout round because the group is over, the Americans are advancing as the top seed in Group D, and Bosnia-Herzegovina is waiting in the Round of 32 on Wednesday in Santa Clara.
Pochettino Managed This Game Perfectly Even Though the Result Was Ugly
Starting nine new players in a dead rubber group stage match is exactly what every smart manager in the history of international football does when the group is already won and the knockout round is six days away.
Pochettino wasn’t trying to win the Turkey game because winning the Turkey game was worth significantly less than making sure Balogun, McKennie, Dest, and the rest of the first-choice starters were rested and healthy for the match that actually matters next Wednesday.
The guys who played Thursday were audtioning for bench roles and showing Pochettino what they could provide if injuries or suspensions force changes to the starting eleven during the knockout rounds.
CBS Sports said that the match offered a stark reminder that the USMNT are one team with their best players and an entirely different team without them.
I mean obviously, that is an accurate statement but also, no shit?
I don’t know who’s talking soccer over at CBS Sports but that is completely expected because every national team in the world looks significantly worse when you swap out nine starters at once.
Spain would look worse with nine changes. France would look worse with nine changes. Brazil would look worse with nine changes. The depth gap between the first eleven and the second eleven is a reality of international football that doesn’t change the fact that when Mauricio Pochettino puts his best lineup on the field, the USMNT has been dominant in this tournament and hasn’t given anyone reason to doubt that the knockout round will be any different.
Pulisic Coming Back Is the Real Story From Thursday Night
Christian Pulisic entered the game in the 58th minute for his first action since coming out at halftime of the Paraguay opener nearly two weeks ago with a calf injury, and the moment he stepped on the field the entire stadium roared because every American fan in the building understood that the captain being healthy for the knockout round is worth more than any result in a meaningless group stage game against a team that was already going home.
Pulisic created a scoring opportunity within a couple of minutes of entering with a dynamic run down the left side and nearly scored in the 63rd minute when his quick shot off a pass from Berhalter was knocked off the goalpost by Turkey’s keeper before Aaronson botched the resulting sitter that should have been an easy tap-in.
The fact that Pulisic looked sharp and aggressive and dangerous in 30-plus minutes of action after two weeks of nursing a calf injury is the best possible news heading into the Bosnia match because the USMNT with a healthy Pulisic is a completely different team than the one that played Thursday night and Bosnia should be terrified that the captain is back and moving freely.
TRUSTY THE PROCESS
Shoutout Media, PA. Shoutout DELCO. Shoutout Austin Trusty.
Trusty’s goal in the second half gave the Americans their seventh of the tournament, which ties the USMNT’s scoring record for any World Cup before the knockout round even begins.
BERHALTER TO TRUSTY PUTS USMNT ON THE BOARD EARLY
Seven goals in three group stage games from a program that has historically struggled to score at World Cups is a significant development that tells you the attacking talent on this roster is producing at a level that no previous American team has matched on this stage.
The game also produced the tournament’s 173rd combined goal, breaking the record for most goals scored in a World Cup that was set in Qatar four years ago while doing it in four fewer matches.
The 2026 World Cup has been a goal-scoring bonanza across the board and the USMNT has been contributing to it with the kind of offensive production that makes the knockout round matchup against Bosnia feel manageable rather than daunting.
Bosnia on Wednesday and Then the Real Tournament Begins
The Round of 32 matchup against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Santa Clara on Wednesday is where the 2026 World Cup actually starts for the USMNT because group stage soccer is about survival and advancement while knockout soccer is about winning or going home.
Bosnia is ranked 64th in the world and is exactly the kind of opponent the USMNT should handle comfortably on home soil, regardless of what their team is already saying to the media. Get a load of these dorks.
Anyways, with the first-choice lineup back on the field and Pulisic healthy enough to start or at least contribute significant minutes off the bench.
Win that and the USMNT heads to Seattle for the Round of 16. Win that and it’s back to Inglewood for the quarterfinals, likely against Spain. Win that and Arlington, Texas calls for the semifinals.
The path is right there and the first step is beating Bosnia on Wednesday in a match where the Americans will be heavy favorites and the crowd will be overwhelmingly in their corner because every stadium in this tournament has felt like a home game and the knockout rounds aren’t going to be any different.
The only other times the USMNT has won two matches in a single World Cup were 1930 and 2002, and the Americans have only won a single knockout-stage match in their entire World Cup history, which was a 2-0 victory over Mexico in 2002.
The Golden Generation has the opportunity to change all of that starting Wednesday and the Turkey loss doesn’t factor into anything going forward because the group stage is over, the Americans are through, and the only game that matters now is the next one.
Thursday was a celebration night for the USMNT even with the loss because the group stage is complete, two wins and a meaningless defeat against an eliminated team with nine changed starters is exactly the result Pochettino was managing toward, and the knockout round bracket is favorable enough that the quarterfinals remain a realistic floor for expectations rather than a ceiling.
The group stage is over. We’re advancing. That’s all that matters. Bosnia on Wednesday and then we keep going until someone stops us or we’re the last ones standing.
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