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The US faces an interesting situation on Thursday. The Americans have already won their group and Turkey has already been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.
So is US men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino trying to continue to build off of the USA’s good start, or is he focusing on the Round of 16?
Let us answer your questions.
If you were Poch, how would you handle this game vs. Turkey?
— Blake Newton (@blake_newton48)
There’s a good thing brewing with this team right now, and I don’t want to see a lot of that disrupted by just making complete wholesale changes. That doesn’t mean I don’t trust the depth of this group. I just want to continue to build momentum within this team as much as possible.
The main players who won’t play though: everyone who is a yellow card away from suspension. Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson and Folarin Balogun are a yellow card away from missing the round of 16. Nobody wants that to happen. This also gives Poch a chance to get minutes for some more guys who could be important down the stretch in later rounds.
The key story: Christian Pulisic.
Christian Pulisic missed the USA’s win over Australia with a calf injury. (John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)
I will only play him from the start if he is 100 percent fit. If he’s 85 or 90 percent, I don’t start him. If so, he might get 10 or 15 minutes of running, maybe as much as half an hour, towards the end, but I don’t push him or put him in danger.
The goal is to have a fully healthy Christian capable of firing on all cylinders for the Round of 16.
Who is the player you’re most excited to see that we haven’t seen much of yet?
— Jacobi Moore (@jacobimoore.92)
The first name that comes to mind is Gio Reyna. I would love to see more of him on the field as he can potentially make an impact later in the tournament.
I also want to see guys who can make their World Cup debut with an appearance. Specifically, it would also be nice to see midfielder Christian Roldan and forward Haji Wright get to play in this game because they are from the Los Angeles area.
What has been your favorite match so far at the tournament?
— Christopher Castro (@christopheracastro_23)
I am very interested in the first match in the United States in Los Angeles. We had waited so long for that game and it had so many expectations. It was such an inspiring 90 minutes that filled the confidence that this fanbase needed at that moment.
It has also been great to see Lionel Messi at this tournament. First it was a hat-trick against Algeria, and then he made history against Austria with his brace.
Finally, Cape Verde’s game against Uruguay on Sunday night was fantastic. That team’s existence in this tournament has been so much fun to watch so far.
Cape Verde almost won that game and probably should have had a late penalty. All in all, I’m really happy with how the team has performed so far. Cape Verde are doing their country proud going into their final match against Saudi Arabia after taking two points from matches against Spain and Uruguay. Now it can guarantee qualification for the round of 16 with a win.
What was your favorite formation to play in?
— Kaden Holmes (@kadenholmes68)
Either a 4-2-3-1 as one of the two midfielders or a 4-3-3 where I was an “8” and could play from box to box.
How old were you when you fell in love with football?
— Fatimah (@fatttyy_toofineee)
My first memories of kicking a ball are from when I was 3 or 4 years old. I’m sure my parents had me kicking a ball around before then because my dad loved the game just like my mom did.
It was love at first sight with the first kick. I didn’t think about playing professionally at that age. Instead, I just enjoyed playing.
I had three older siblings who I always tried to compete with. I enjoyed competing and the fun I had with my family before I started watching TV and became a fan.
