USMNT vs Türkiye
Photography by: Peter Bonilla
The United States' perfect World Cup group stage came to a dramatic end Thursday night, falling 3-2 to Türkiye on a stoppage-time winner in a wildly entertaining contest at Los Angeles Stadium. While the defeat ultimately carried little consequence for the already-qualified Americans, it provided Türkiye with a measure of redemption after an otherwise disappointing tournament.
Having already secured first place in Group D, Mauricio Pochettino rotated heavily, making nine changes to his starting lineup. The fresh faces wasted little time making an impression. Just three minutes in, Sebastian Berhalter floated a pinpoint corner to Auston Trusty, who calmly brought the ball down before smashing home the opening goal—the defender's first for the national team and the second-fastest goal in U.S. men's World Cup history.
Rather than folding after another early setback, Türkiye finally showed the quality many expected before the tournament began.
Real Madrid midfielder Arda Güler, one of the brightest young talents in world football, orchestrated the response. After combining neatly with Barış Alper Yılmaz, the 21-year-old slipped through the American defense and coolly finished to level the match just seven minutes later. Güler then helped spark another flowing move just past the half-hour mark, with Orkun Kökçü arriving to convert from close range and give Türkiye a deserved halftime lead.
The Americans responded immediately after the restart. A loose ball fell invitingly to Berhalter on the edge of the box, and the midfielder rifled a driven strike into the bottom corner to cap an outstanding individual performance that included both a goal and an assist.
Pochettino gradually turned to his regular stars, introducing Christian Pulisic just before the hour mark for his first appearance since suffering a calf injury in the tournament opener. The AC Milan winger immediately injected life into the attack, creating several dangerous moments and nearly restoring the lead when his low effort cannoned off the post before Brenden Aaronson failed to convert the rebound.
Despite controlling much of the second half and finishing with a commanding advantage in shots and corners, the United States couldn't find a winner.
Instead, it was Türkiye who delivered the final blow.
Deep into eight minutes of stoppage time, Can Uzun kept a cross alive at the back post before squaring across the face of goal. Veteran defender Kaan Ayhan arrived with the final touch, sliding the ball beyond Matt Turner to hand Türkiye its first—and only—victory of the tournament.
The result denied the United States a perfect group-stage campaign but did little to dampen an otherwise impressive opening round. The Americans still finished atop Group D with a program-record six points and a tournament-best eight goals through three matches, setting up a Round of 32 showdown against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For Türkiye, the victory arrived too late to salvage their World Cup hopes, but it served as a reminder of the attacking talent within Vincenzo Montella's squad—and offered a fitting farewell after a frustrating campaign.
