With the USA’s place in the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup secured and the top spot in Group D secured, one might assume that the team’s final group stage match against Turkey at the Los Angeles Stadium on Thursday is, to put it mildly, a no-brainer.
That sentiment is not shared within the U.S. men’s national team, which will be looking to win its third straight World Cup match.
Here’s everything to know about USA vs. Türkiye in their group stage final:
American coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Wednesday what everyone already knew: None of the four Americans who received a yellow card in one of the first two group wins will be in his starting 11 against the already eliminated Turks.
Expect several other mainstays who entered the World Cup camp either with an injury or recently returned from one – Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and 38-year-old captain Tim Ream among them – to also get a well-deserved rest. The question that remains unanswered is whether headliner Christian Pulisic will be in Poch’s 11. Although Pulisic insisted before the final pre-match training session that he is available after recovering from a sore calf, he admitted that playing 90 minutes is unlikely. The notion here is that the AC Milan man will come off the bench in the second half. – Doug McIntyre
This week I’m going with striker Ricardo Pepi. He started his first World Cup game last week against Australia with Christian Pulisic out with a calf injury. This week I expect him to start again as Folarin Balogun is on a yellow card.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Wednesday that he plans to rest the four players who are on yellow: Balogun, Chris Richards, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and Tyler Adams. It’s another big opportunity for Pepi, who played 74 minutes and helped force the own goal against Australia. In this match, he could be the main goal up top and maybe score his first World Cup goal. — Sheet Litman
Goalkeeper: Matt Freese
Left back: Max Arfsten
Center back: Auston Trusty
Center back: Mark McKenzie
Center back: Miles Robinson
Right back: Joe Scally
Central Midfielder: Weston McKennie
Central Midfielder: Sebastian Berhatler
Attacking Midfielder: Brenden Aaronson
Striker: Tim Weah
Striker: Ricardo Pepi
With the American team already winning the group, Mauricio Pochettino will make many changes to his lineup. While Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Chirs Richards and Antonee “Jedi” Robinson carry yellow cards, they cannot risk suspension by playing. Christian Pulisic is nearing a return, but if he is ready to play in this game, he should be from the bench. This game is also a great opportunity to rest Tim Ream, who is 38. Once you get this far, I think Pochettino rests most of the rest of the starters.
The rest of the lineup almost picks itself. Tim Weah and Brenden Aaronson are longtime veterans who so far haven’t played as much as they would have liked. They should be hungry to prove themselves. With Adams out and Roldan injured, McKennie and Berhalter will pretty much start. Meanwhile, Trusty, McKenzie and Robinson represent a clean sweep of central defenders.
As for the goalkeeper, I think Pochettino will keep Freese in the starting line-up. Freese needs to maintain a rhythm after facing few shots in the first two games. —Brian Sciaretta
Türkiye may be the unluckiest team in the World Cup and will feel hard done by going into this game. Of all the teams at the bottom of their group, especially those already eliminated, the Turks are probably the most talented.
The team had 62 shots in its first two games without scoring a goal. Against Australia in the opener, Türkiye faced a team that defended extremely well and happened to get an early goal. After this, the Aussies could sit back and defend themselves in a low block that was really well executed.
Then against Paraguay, it was an even earlier goal that put Türkiye behind. After that, the Turks played against 10 men for 50 minutes, but still could not score.
Looking at Türkiye’s xGs (expected goals) and total shots, one would be shocked that it lost both games and didn’t even get a point from either of them. But in reality, the team goes home after this game regardless of the result.
Closing early has been particularly difficult for Türkiye. It makes for a strange game because the Turks have been in control, so there is initially a feeling of confidence that the goal will come. Then, as the game goes on, it gets more and more frustrating. – Walker Zimmerman
