INGLEWOOD, California. He wasn’t perfect, but he was almost invincible. The US men’s team was seconds away from completing the group stage of the World Cup without loss. They also had the chance to make it three wins at this stage for the first time in their history. Then, with time almost up and a key player down through injury, Turkiye pulled out a killer 3-2 victory.
The result, in truth, was largely inconsequential. The USMNT still won the group and Türkiye still goes home. But they will leave a little happier, while the Americans will enter the playoffs slightly bruised after letting the draw slip away with almost the final blow.
After failing to make his first 62 shots of the tournament, Turkiye made the most of his chances against a much-fluid USMNT team. This American team, however, never faltered, scoring first and then showing the courage to come from behind and almost make it.
In the opening minutes, it looked like the USMNT, which featured nine new starters, might run away again. Auston Trusty scored just three minutes into the game before rushing to the bench to celebrate another early U.S. goal. The first two goals were scored as own goals, but not this one; It was a perfect combination between Trusty and Sebastian Berhalter, who fed him the ball from a corner.
Turkiye then threw two punches of his own. Their star Arda Guler struck first, taking advantage of sloppy USMNT defending in the 10th minute. Then, in the 31st minute, the US backline collapsed again under a wave of Turkish players, allowing Orkan Kokç to easily finish the game.
The US caught fire in the second half. Berhalter’s lucky strike in the 49th leveled the scores before Christian Pulisic’s cavalry arrived soon after. Returning from injury, Pulisic created several chances, but none of them came through. Ultimately it backfired on them. With Trusty limping with an apparent ankle injury, Kaan Ayhan scored in the 96th minute to break American hearts.
In truth, they won’t be too broken. Manager Mauricio Pochettino will overall be pleased with the performance given the circumstances. Ultimately, it was not enough to continue their unbeaten streak.
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