USMNT Loses It Late Against Departing Turkiye

By Daniel Feuerstein | Inglewood, CA | June 25th 2026

Mauricio Pochettino made wholesale changes as the U.S. Men’s National Team faced Turkiye, who were playing for pride after falling to both Australia and Paraguay in the last two matches. While there were some good moments for the USA, the bad ones did creep in when they lost the lead after a strong 10 minutes to start the match. Once the final whistle blew, the USA had to move on and get ready for their first knockout round match as they fell to the Turks by the final score of three goals to two.

Another early goal to take the lead

When the opening whistle blew, the U.S. Men’s National Team started on the right foot and showed determination to put Turkiye on their heels. They earned two consecutive corners to start the match. Sebastian Berhalter took the second corner at the near side. When he delivered the ball, it crossed all the way to the far side, and waiting for the ball was Austin Trusty. He cushioned the ball to settle it and then smashed it home for the opening goal in the third minute.

Early Breakdown allows the equalizer

Turkiye is playing for pride, and the players know how poorly they performed in their last two group-stage games against Australia and Paraguay. As the ball was sent down the pitch, it was bouncing around the players at the backline. No one got the ball, and that allowed Alper Yilmaz to collect the ball and make his attacking run. Yilmaz made the cross to Arda Guler, made his run to the net, and scored in the 10th minute. Miles Robinson tried to track back and help, but it was too late. That goal was a breakdown from the entire backline.

Turkiye takes the lead

Turkiye, all of a sudden, started to turn it up and kicked it into another gear. They created several passing plays along the far side and were outrunning the defenders, causing havoc. Eren Elmali received the ball and made a quick pass to the middle of the area. He found Orkun Kokcu wide open, and he redirected the ball off his right foot and inside the near post in the 31st minute. A lot of miscommunication from the U.S. Men’s National Team inside the area trying to defend those chances by Turkiye. This was the first time in three World Cup matches the USA has trailed in a match.

A Banger from Berhalter

As the match restarted, the U.S. Men’s National Team wanted to rekindle that excellent start they had in the first ten minutes of the match. They got back into the match, attacking the Turkish area and finally started to look dangerous again. As the ball was thrown back into play from the far side touchline by Tim Weah, he threw it long, and it landed inside the area. Several shots were taken, but the ball went back to the top of the area. Berhalter ran up to the loose ball and smashed it from distance inside the front post in the 49th minute to level the match at two.

Christian Pulisic subbed in since the first half against Paraguay

When Christian Pulisic was seen on the Jumbotron, it was a great sight to see. He subbed into the match in the 60th minute for Tim Weah, and when he stepped back on the pitch, he quickly got to work and showed his magic with the ball. A big cheer from the American Soccer fans erupted when Pulisic was shown on the Jumbotron at SoFi Stadium. He made several attacking runs down the left side and created passes to his teammates. He had a great chance to get the go-ahead goal, but unfortunately his shot just bent away from the far post and out.

Late goal conceded, and Turkiye wins it at the death

With seven minutes of second half stoppage time, plus two more during an injury to Austin Trusty, Turkiye was looking for that one last gasp to take the win and head home with some dignity. The ball was played along the near side, and attacking was Can Uzun. He drew four USA defenders, including goalkeeper Matt Turner, towards him, leaving room for Kaan Ayhan to have the room to punch the ball into the back of the net. The cross got to Ayhan, and it went in at the eighth minute of second half stoppage time.

A last-minute goal from Turkiye gave the USA their first loss at the World Cup, and now they will face Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Round of 32.

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