With the United States’ place in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup secured and first place in Group D secured, one might assume that the team’s final group match against Türkiye at Los Angeles Stadium on Thursday is, to put it mildly, inconsequential.
That sentiment is not shared within the United States men’s national team, which will look to win its third consecutive World Cup match.
Here’s everything there is to know about United States vs. Türkiye in the group stage final:
American coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Wednesday what everyone already knew: none of the four Americans who received a yellow card in one of the first two group victories will be in his starting lineup against the already eliminated Turks.
Expect several other mainstays who arrived at the World Cup camp either nursing an injury or having recently returned from one (Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and 38-year-old captain Tim Ream among them) to also get a well-deserved rest. The question that remains unanswered is whether starter Christian Pulisic will be in Poch’s eleven. Although Pulisic insisted before the final pre-match training session that he is available after recovering from calf soreness, he admitted he is not likely to play 90 minutes. The hunch here is that the AC Milan player will come off the bench in the second half. —Doug McIntyre
This week I’m going with striker Ricardo Pepi. He started his first World Cup match last week against Australia with Christian Pulisic out with a calf injury. This week, I hope he starts again given that Folarin Balogun has a yellow card.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino said Wednesday that he plans to rest the four yellow players: Balogun, Chris Richards, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and Tyler Adams. It’s another great opportunity for Pepi, who played 74 minutes and helped force an own goal against Australia. In this match, he could be the main goal at the top and perhaps score his first goal in a World Cup. — Laken Litman
Goalie: Matt Freese
Left side: Max Arfsten
Central defense: Reliable Auston
Central defense: Mark McKenzie
Central defense: Miles Robinson
Back right: Joe Scally
Central midfielder: Weston McKennie
Central midfielder: Sebastian Berhatler
Offensive midfielder: Brendan Aaronson
Striker: Tim Weah
Striker: ricardo pepi
Since the American team has already won the group, Mauricio Pochettino will make many changes to his lineup. While Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Chirs Richards and Antonee “Jedi” Robinson all have yellow cards, they cannot risk being suspended for playing. Christian Pulisic is close to returning, but if he is ready to play in this game, he should come off the bench. This game is also a great opportunity to rest Tim Ream, who is 38 years old. Once you get that far, I think Pochettino rests most of the rest of the starters.
The rest of the lineup almost chooses itself. Tim Weah and Brenden Aaronson are long-time veterans who haven’t played as much as they would have liked so far. They should be hungry to prove themselves. With Adams out and Roldán injured, McKennie and Berhalter practically have to start. Meanwhile, Trusty, McKenzie and Robinson represent a clean swap of central defenders.
As for the goalkeeper, I think Pochettino keeps Freese in the starting lineup. Freese needs to keep up the pace after facing few shots in the first two games. —Brian Sciaretta
Türkiye may be the unluckiest team in the World Cup and will feel bad coming into this game. Of all the teams at the bottom of their group, especially those that have already been eliminated, the Turks are probably the most talented.
The team made 62 shots in its first two games without scoring a goal. Against Australia in the first match, Türkiye faced a team that defended extremely well and scored an early goal. After that, the Aussies were able to sit back and defend in a low block that was very well executed.
Then, against Paraguay, it was an even earlier goal that put Türkiye behind. The Turks then played against 10 men for 50 minutes but still couldn’t score.
When you look at Türkiye’s xG (expected goals) and total number of shots, you would be surprised to know that he lost both matches and didn’t even get a point in either. But really, this team is going home after this game regardless of the result.
Conceding early has been especially difficult for Türkiye. It’s a strange game because the Turks have been in control, so initially there is a feeling of confidence that the goal will come. Then as the game progresses it becomes more and more frustrating. —Walker Zimmerman
