The USMNT wrapped up their World Cup group campaign with a 3-2 defeat against Turkey.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team head into the knockout rounds having suffered their first loss of the 2026 tournament in dramatic fashion.
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The US had been very impressive in the opening weeks on home soil, with wins against Paraguay and Australia ensuring they topped the group before kicking a ball against Turkey, and cranked football fever up to 11.
Still, the Americans hoped to finish the job in some style as they returned to SoFi Stadium, despite regular starters like Folarin Balogun, Christian Pulisic, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson all rested.
But nine changes to the starting 11 proved too much, and despite an early goal from Auston Trusty, suffered a late dagger when Kaan Ayhan tapped home with the last kick of the game.
Trusty ensured it was the perfect start in Los Angeles, when he smashed home at the back post from a corner inside three minutes.
Guler then beat Matt Turner with a composed finish at the other end, for the first goal of Turkey’s disappointing campaign that had seen them eliminated before kickoff.
The US found themselves behind on the 30-minute mark, when Orkun Kokcu swept home to cap a good team move.
Down 2-1 at halftime, Pochettino would have had some choice words for his players, and his locker room talk sparked early second half momentum.
Berhalter unleashed a fantastic effort from outside the box to pull his country level in the 49th minute, and things got even better when Chrisitan Pulisic, who missed the win against Australia through injury, made his return just before the hour mark.
With their talisman on the field, the US looked far more dangerous, and quickly started to create chances as they went in search of a winner.
But despite his effort, the US were unable to find a late goal of their own, and instead conceded with the last kick of the game.
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In the 97th minute, Can Uzun saw his effort at the back post cleared off line by Alex Freeman, but the ball rebounded to Ayhan, who tapped in to put a dampener on the USMNT’s group phase.
Pochettino will now have plenty of decisions to make as attention turns to the knockout phase, and he looks to cement his strongest starting 11 for the challenges to come.
“he US are proving at this tournament that they’re hungry and capable of fast starts and getting leads in games,” eSPORTY’s USMNT correspondent Ben Jacobs reports.
“A little bit of adversity certainly can help them but Mauricio Pochettino will be disappointed with the defensive frailties on show, including conceding a scrappy goal in the last minute.
“Several players, for the first two goals, were also maybe culpable of being a bit flat-footed but Pochettino won’t be too harsh on his side because that XI haven’t played that much football together.
“One of the big question marks coming into this tournament was, can the US keep clean sheets and are they strong enough at the back in big games? And for a Turkey side that have struggled for goals to score three against them, albeit in a dead rubber game, that will disappoint Pochettino as will the loss.
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“Momentum is still with the US as they build to the knockout stage and it will obviously be a much-changed XI for the game against Bosnia in Santa Clara when the real test will come
“I don’t think this loss in any way undermines two excellent results.
“And I think we’ve seen characteristics from those two victories in the game against Turkey, particularly the fast starts in each half and that will be really pleasing to Mauricio Pochettino but he will want to tighten it up at the back.
What’s next for USMNT?
With the group done and dusted, the USMNT will next face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 as they look to match their best recent showing of the quarterfinals in 2002.
That game will take place on Wednesday, July 1 at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco – the first of what they hope will be a West Coast run deep at the tournament that ends in a final at MetLife Stadium.
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