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The United States faces an interesting situation on Thursday. The Americans have already won their group and Türkiye has already been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.
So is US men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino trying to continue building on the US’ strong start or is he focusing on the round of 32?
Let’s answer your questions.
If you were Poch, how would you approach this match against Türkiye?
—Blake Newton (@blake_newton48)
There’s something good brewing with this team right now, and I don’t want too much of that to be disrupted by simply making wholesale, complete changes. That’s not to say I’m not confident in the depth of this group. I just want to continue to build momentum within this team as much as possible.
The key players who won’t play, however: anyone who is one yellow card away from being suspended. Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson and Folarin Balogun are one yellow card away from missing the round of 32 match. Nobody wants that to happen. This also gives Poch the opportunity to get minutes for a few more players who could be important in later rounds.
The key plot: Christian Pulisic.
Christian Pulisic missed the United States’ victory over Australia due to his calf injury. (John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)
I will only play against him from the start if he is 100 per cent fit. If it’s at 85 or 90 percent, I won’t start it. If that’s the case, maybe he can run for 10 or 15 minutes, maybe even half an hour, toward the end, but I won’t push him or put him in any danger.
The goal is to have a fully healthy Christian capable of firing on all cylinders for the round of 32.
Who is the player you are most excited to see that we haven’t seen much of yet?
– Jacobi Moore (@jacobimoore.92)
The first name that comes to mind is Gio Reyna. I would love to see him on the field more as he could potentially have an impact later in the tournament.
I would also like to see guys who can make their World Cup debut with an appearance. Specifically, it would also be good to see midfielder Christian Roldán and forward Haji Wright play in this game because they are from the Los Angeles area.
What has been your favorite match so far in the tournament?
— Cristóbal Castro (@christopheracastro_23)
I’m very supportive of the United States’ first game in Los Angeles. We had been waiting for that game for a long time and I had so many expectations. They were 90 minutes that were so inspiring that they filled the confidence that these fans needed at that moment.
Watching Lionel Messi in this tournament has also been fantastic. First it was the hat-trick against Algeria and then he made history against Austria with his double.
Finally, Cape Verde’s game against Uruguay on Sunday night was fantastic. That team’s existence in this tournament has been a lot of fun to watch so far.
Cape Verde almost won that match and probably should have been awarded a penalty at the last moment. Overall, I’m very happy with how the team has performed so far. Cape Verde makes its country proud heading into its final match against Saudi Arabia, having picked up two points in the matches against Spain and Uruguay. Now, with a victory, they can guarantee qualification for the round of 32.
What was your favorite formation to play in?
-Kaden Holmes (@kadenholmes68)
Either a 4-2-3-1 as one of the two midfielders or a 4-3-3 where I was an “8” and could play from area to area.
At what age did you fall in love with football?
– Fatima (@fatttyy_toofineee)
My first memories of kicking a ball are from when I was 3 or 4 years old. I’m sure my parents made me kick a ball before because my dad loved the game, as did my mom.
It was love at first sight with that first kick. At that age I didn’t think about playing professionally. Instead, I just enjoyed playing.
He had three older brothers with whom he always tried to compete. I enjoyed competing and having fun with my family before I started watching on TV and becoming a fan.
