U.S. National Team Faces Setback Against Turkey in World Cup
Mauricio Pochettino has spent 18 months kicking down the doors of convention with the U.S. national team. On Thursday night, convention finally kicked back.
A Kaan Ayhan goal deep into stoppage time handed Turkey a 3-2 win, snapped the Americans’ unbeaten start at this World Cup and turned what was supposed to be a low‑risk rotation exercise into a jolt of reality.
A gamble that finally missed
With a place in the knockout rounds already secured, Pochettino went all in on his squad. Nine changes. Bench emptied. A World Cup group finale treated like a preseason audition. By the 76th minute, when Alejandro Zendejas came on, the U.S. had used 23 different players in the tournament — a national-team record and a clear statement of trust in the depth.
This time the roulette wheel stopped on red.
Turkey, already eliminated and playing in its first World Cup since 2002, arrived angry and left with its only win of the tournament, snatching it with virtually the last touch of its stay.
Whether this dents the momentum built with commanding wins over Paraguay and Australia will only be clear on Wednesday in Santa Clara, when the U.S. (2-1-0) meets Bosnia and Herzegovina, the third-place team from Group B, in the round of 32. Pochettino insists it won’t.
“The objective was to finish first and we are first,” he said. “Now it is the next stage and it is going to be a final. And we are ready. We are much better than before that game because we had players now with 90 minutes in their legs and performing and really to help if we need from the beginning or after from the bench.
“It’s all positive. And I am so positive and I am happy.”
A dream start, a rude reply
For a while, it looked like another chapter in the Pochettino master plan.
Surprise starter Auston Trusty needed less than three minutes to justify his inclusion. Sebastian Berhalter, making his first World Cup start, whipped in a long, right-footed corner that sailed across the face of goal. Trusty killed it with his first touch, then lashed a left-footed shot from the far edge of the six-yard box, beating Ugurcan Cakir at the near post.
Second-fastest U.S. goal in World Cup history. One-nil up. Experiment humming.
The response was brutal and swift.
In the 10th minute, Arda Guler slipped away from Mark McKenzie at the penalty spot, met a pass from Kenan Yildiz and lifted a left-footed finish over Matt Turner. It was the first shot Turner had faced all tournament. It was also the first time this U.S. team had surrendered a lead at this World Cup.
The second shot he faced went in as well. Just past the half-hour, Eren Elmali drove a centering ball into the box, Orkun Kokcu arrived at the edge of the six and redirected it into the net. For the first time in this World Cup, the U.S. trailed.
Turkey, already out, wasn’t just hanging around. It was leaning into every tackle, chipping away from the opening whistle, and suddenly Pochettino’s rotated side was in a real game.
Berhalter steps up, Pulisic returns
The U.S. clawed back early in the second half. Four minutes after the restart, a loose ball spilled out to the top of the area. Berhalter, again in the right place, had time and space. He stayed calm, swung through it with his right and skipped a shot just inside the near post.
“The ball just popped out and I knew if I just stayed calm and just made a swing motion, that I had a chance,” he said. “You practice those a lot and to see that go in was awesome.”
A goal and an assist in his first World Cup start. On a night of rotation, he looked anything but a fringe piece.
The pressure rose another notch when Christian Pulisic stepped onto the pitch on the hour mark. Nursing a left calf issue, the U.S. captain hadn’t played since the first half of the opening game. He wasted no time announcing his return.
Three times he tore up the left wing. Three times he carved out danger. Three times Turkey survived.
Those misses lingered when the clock tipped into stoppage time and the punishment arrived.
Ayhan, hemmed in by three U.S. defenders in front of goal, found just enough space in the scramble to stab the ball home. Turkey’s last act of this World Cup was to hand the U.S. its first defeat of the tournament.
Lessons, not panic
The U.S. players didn’t hide their frustration, but they didn’t sound shaken either.
“We know everyone’s ready to step up at any moment,” Berhalter said. “I think you saw that today. We let some moments get away from us, but I thought the performances overall were good.
“It’s every little kid’s dream across the United States of America to play in a home World Cup, and just in a World Cup in general. People made their debuts today, so congratulations everyone. This is what everybody looks forward to.”
Brenden Aaronson, who came off the bench, framed the sting as fuel.
“You can always take these things as fuel, having that moment in the last one where they score,” he said. “It’s tough. We wanted to walk away with no losses in the group stage. But it was still a fantastic group stage.
“Not worried whatsoever. We’re going to move on to the next one and be ready to go for Bosnia.”
Pochettino, for his part, has turned squad rotation into a weapon over this World Cup, giving 21 different players a start in the group stage alone. On Thursday, that boldness finally exacted a price.
But the table still says the U.S. finished first. The bracket still says they’re alive. The legs across the squad now carry 90 more minutes, and the coach remains defiantly upbeat.
The question now is simple and unforgiving: when Bosnia and Herzegovina arrive in Santa Clara, will this defeat linger in the mind — or sharpen the edge of a team that has spent 18 months learning to live on the brink?
