The U.S. men’s national team ended the group stage of the 2026 World Cup with a 3-2 loss to Turkey on Thursday, June 25, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The USMNT finished first in Group D and will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino made nine changes from the team that beat Australia last week, with only Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi retaining their places in the starting XI.
Despite the significant changes, the Americans got off to a strong start once again, scoring the second-fastest goal in World Cup history. Auston Trusty grabbed Sebastian Berhalter’s corner kick and scored his first international goal of his career in the third minute.
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Unlike the previous two group matches, the early joy was short-lived as Turkey took the lead in the match, with Arda Güler equalizing in the 10th minute. They took the lead after 20 minutes after Olukun Kökçu scored a great team move.
Just minutes after the halftime break, Sebastian Berhalter brought the Americans back into the tie with a great shot from outside the box. The game seemed destined to end in a tie, but Turkey’s Khan Ayhan scored the winning goal with his last kick in the 8th minute of second-half stoppage time.
The USMNT will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, July 1st in Santa Clara, California.
Let’s take a look at the performance of the American players.
GK: Matt Turner – 5
He had zero saves and conceded three goals. He may have been unlucky, but the end result is the same.
RWB: Joe Scully – 6
Scali provided good energy on the right side on both sides of the ball. He doesn’t offer the same dynamism as Dest, but he’s a solid option if you need him in the future.
RCB: Mark McKenzie – 5
There were shaky moments when tracking runners and dealing with Türkiye’s movements.
CCB: Miles Robinson – 5.5
He was taken out of position for Türkiye’s first goal. Although he was able to avoid major mistakes overall, he still bears some responsibility as the anchor of the defense.
LCB: Auston Trustee – 6.5
It was an incredible moment for him to score his first goal for his country at the World Cup. However, there were some questionable moments defensively, which created clear chances for Türkiye.
LWB: Tim Ware – 4.5
It was a tough night for Weir, who struggled to make an impact on the left side. Admittedly, it’s not his ideal position. But almost every touch was offside or they gave away the ball too easily. He will need to eliminate this performance when he returns to play as a substitute in the knockout match.
CM: Sebastian Berhalter – 7
A great shot from a midfielder who tried his best to fill the role of Tyler Adam. Defensively, he’s obviously not a true No. 6, but he did an adequate job when called upon to play.
CM: Weston McKechnie – 7
It was another exemplary performance for McKennie, who was once again the driving force behind the team. He’s so close to his goal, but it’s just beyond him. I feel like one is coming soon.
RAM: Gio Reyna – 5.5
Reyna had a big chance to start, but couldn’t take advantage of it. He didn’t get many opportunities to impact the game on the offensive end.
Ram: Brenden Aaronson – 5
We all know Aaronson brings energy to the team. What he lacks is final production, and that proved to be true once again as he missed the opening goal on a rebound and failed to connect on some key passes later on.
ST: Ricardo Pepi – 5.5
The hold up play was very good as usual. Other than that, he couldn’t offer much of a danger to Türkiye. His sloppy handling of the ball cost the team several scoring chances.
Sub: Christian Pulisic – 6.5
He appeared to have shaken off his calf injury and looked fresh and motivated. This team needs him at 100% in the knockouts.
Sub: Serginho Dest – 5.5
He never had a chance to get on the ball and make an impact. After he came on, Turkey appeared to take advantage of the right side of the defense.
Sub: Alex Zendejas – 6
His World Cup debut ended in a slight slump. He only had a short amount of time with the ball and couldn’t create anything.
Sub: Alex Freeman – 5.5
He was brought on to strengthen the defence, but was unable to help clear the ball for the winning goal. It’s hard to blame him, but he’s at least partly at fault.
Sub: Malik Tillman – NR
Second half sub. He only touched the ball a few times.
