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The US men’s national team won Group D, but that ended the group stage a bit of a dud. However, former American goalkeeper Brad Guzan does not want the fan base to sound the alarm.
After the USA gave up a late goal in its 3-2 loss to Türkiye, Guzan remains optimistic about the Stars and Stripes ahead of the round of 16 against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Look, I was just saying there’s been a lot of talk, a lot of hype in the last two games around this American team,” Guzan said. “To all our new USA fans. Everyone, calm down. Everyone, take a deep breath.”
To Guzan’s point, the US mostly started its backups Thursday night. Nine of the 11 players in the starting lineup made their first start in the 2026 World Cup, with Matt Turner filling in for Matt Freese in net. It also won the possession battle (52-48), outscored Türkiye (18-9) and had more shots on goal (7-3). On top of that, the USA had more touches in the opponent’s field (37-24) than Türkiye.
Still, the loss may have exposed some defensive vulnerabilities for the United States. FOX Sports’ Maurice Edu assigned a rating of 5 or lower to all four of the USA’s starting defensemen as the team gave up two goals early in the first half.
But Thursday’s loss didn’t change anything for the U.S.’s path in the knockout stages. It will still face Bosnia and Herzegovina after winning Group D and securing two wins in its first two matches, outscoring its opponents by five goals.
That is why Guzan urged supporters to keep an overview of the tournament rather than panic over a single negative result, stressing that the team’s internal confidence remains fully intact as they prepare for their upcoming knockout opponent.
“We’re OK,” Guzan said. “We’re going into the round of 16. This result tonight didn’t change anything. We’re still top of the group, we’re still going into this round for a [round of] 32 game against Bosnia with confidence, with belief, jump on board, stay on board and let’s drive this thing to the final.”
