Türkiye nips USMNT in stoppage time to take group stage finale
Zach Cavanagh
Host · Writer
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – With the group already secured and its opponent already eliminated, the United States men’s national team used the luxury of a “dead rubber” game in its World Cup group stage finale to sit 10 of its 11 regular starters.
The U.S. eliminated the risk of injury or yellow-card suspension for its most integral players, but the Americans did risk tournament momentum, as Türkiye nipped the game-winning goal in the final second of stoppage time to defeat the USMNT bench, 3-2, to salvage some pride on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.
The United States takes its first loss of the tournament as it heads to the knockout rounds, where the Stars and Stripes will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday in Santa Clara.
“We lost the game, but I don't think it was a game to lose,” USMNT midfielder Brendan Aaronson said. “We had a lot of chances, and we could have done better in some defensive plays, but it happens. You make 10 changes, the team might not be used to the guys that have been playing, but I think it was still a top game.”
Sebastian Berhalter collected a first-half assist on a corner kick to Aaron Trusty at the back post to put the U.S. ahead, 1-0, and netted a second-half goal by blasting home an uncleared rebound to tie the game, 2-2.
At 2:13, Trusty’s goal was the second-fastest in USMNT World Cup history following Clint Dempsey’s goal 30 seconds in against Ghana in 2014. Berhalter’s goal was the eighth by the United States at this World Cup, which is the most in men’s program history (seven in 1930 and 2002).
Türkiye, which entered Thursday with the most shot attempts taken without a goal in World Cup history, tied the game in the 10th minute and put the United States down for the first time in this tournament in the 31st minute.
The Turks then crashed the box in the 98th minute to score on the final play of the game and go home with a victory despite finishing last in Group D.
“I think you saw the second half how we came out, and I think we deserve more out of that game,” Berhalter said. “That's one moment. We slipped in the last second of the game, and I think we're proud of the performance we put in. I think the guys did well, and we fought, and unfortunate not to get a result, but we'll be ready for sure.”
Elsewhere in the group, Australia and Paraguay played to a 0-0 draw in Santa Clara, which allowed the Socceroos to clinch a spot in the knockouts on goal differential. Paraguay must wait to see if it is among the eight best third-place teams to advance.
The United States turned over nearly its entire starting line-up for the group stage finale. With the game lacking consequences for the standings, head coach Mauricio Pochettino had already declared he would sit the four Americans holding yellow cards–Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and Folarin Balogun–to avoid any suspensions heading into the knockout rounds.What was a surprise was flipping nine starters from its last game against Australia, which provided pluses and minuses for the USMNT’s performance. On the plus side, nearly the entire roster now has some World Cup experience. On the minus side, the defensive play was less than cohesive, including on the last-second winner.
“We know everyone's ready,” Berhalter said. “We know everyone's ready to step up at any given moment. I think you saw it today, you know? I think we let some moments get away from us, but I thought performances overall were good. Some guys haven't played almost a minute, and they stepped up and did great. I'm proud of the whole group.”
Weston McKennie was the lone U.S. regular to start his third game of the World Cup and wore the captain’s armband in 85 minutes of play.
The most notable regular for the USMNT came on as a 58th-minute sub, as Christian Pulisic got his first action since being subbed off with a calf issue at halftime of the opener. Instead of going 19 days between game action, Pulisic got his touches and showed his signature creativity in his 32 minutes, which is a great sign heading into the knockout rounds.
“You saw his quality, and you saw when he came in, the impact he had,” Berhalter said. “He's our guy, and he's, more importantly, just a great person that everyone follows, and he's a leader in his own right.”
The United States men’s national team’s home World Cup will not be defined on how its back-ups played in an inconsequential group stage finale.
Ultimately, the Americans will be judged on how far they ride this sky-high start into the knockout rounds, which begin next Wednesday in the Round of 32 against Bosnia. The USMNT has never advanced past the quarterfinals in a World Cup and have not reached the quarters since 2002.
“I think we played every game like a knockout game,” Berhalter said. “We played every game like it's do or die. I saw that in our intensity and the way we worked and for us, it's to keep doing what we've been doing.”
