U.S. Men's National Team Wins Group Despite Loss to Turkey

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The questions kept coming, sharp and skeptical. Mauricio Pochettino’s patience did not.

Moments after the U.S. men’s national team let a wild, rotated group-stage finale slip 3-2 to Turkey with the last kick of the night at SoFi Stadium, the head coach bristled, pushed back and then walked out — but not before reminding everyone of the one fact he felt was being ignored.

“It cannot be possible that Turkey celebrates three points, Australia celebrates getting through, Paraguay celebrates getting through… for you to not say congratulations for winning the group, it’s a little bit sad,” he said, his tone hardening with each clause.

“I need to remind everyone we won the group, sorry guys, we won,” he added, then rose and exited, ending the press conference on his terms.

A dead-rubber sting

The defeat itself changes nothing on paper. The U.S. had locked up first place in Group D after two games, which handed Pochettino the luxury — and the risk — of sweeping changes.

He took it.

Only Ricardo Pepi and Weston McKennie survived from the side that beat Australia. The four starters walking the yellow-card tightrope — Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson — never left the bench. With suspensions wiped clean after the group stage, Pochettino refused to gamble.

The price was rhythm. The U.S. suffered its first loss of the tournament. Turkey, driven by a sparkling Arda Guler display, punished the disjointed performance and stole the game deep into stoppage time, the winner arriving in the eighth added minute.

For some in the room, that raised the familiar World Cup question: momentum. Had the U.S. surrendered some of it?

Pochettino’s eyes narrowed.

“Explain what you mean in momentum — I don’t understand,” he shot back. “To play with the same team we played against Australia to take a risk? To receive a yellow card (suspension)? To risk players who maybe have problems? I don’t understand. Germany lost momentum too and they played with (mostly) the same team (in their loss to Ecuador on Thursday).”

He was not in the mood to indulge hypotheticals. For him, the equation was simple: top the group, protect the core, move on.

Trusty strikes, Guler takes over

On the field, the night had its own jagged rhythm.

Auston Trusty opened the scoring for the U.S., a bright moment for a heavily changed XI trying to seize an opportunity. Turkey responded, then took control as Guler began to glide between the lines, dictate tempo and carve out chances. He scored, he probed, he tormented — a man-of-the-match performance wrapped inside a group-stage dead rubber.

Sebastian Berhalter dragged the U.S. level early in the second half, a reward for persistence rather than fluency. At 2-2, the game drifted. Both sides made changes. The U.S. seemed content enough with the draw, the job already done in the group.

Then came the late twist. Deep into stoppage time, Turkey broke, Guler again central to the move. Christian Pulisic, back on the field and tracking, was nutmegged in the buildup. The final strike beat the clock and Matt Turner, and Turkey celebrated a dramatic win that still wasn’t enough to change the standings.

The U.S. walked off beaten on the night, but still top of the group — and that contradiction fueled the tension upstairs.

Pulisic returns, fears eased

If there was one moment that truly mattered beyond the scoreline, it came in the 58th minute.

Pulisic, who had exited at halftime against Paraguay with a calf issue in the opener, stepped off the bench and into the game. No limp. No hesitation. Just the familiar urgency and directness that instantly tilted the pitch.

He replaced Tim Weah on the left and immediately became the most dangerous American attacker. He drove at defenders, combined with teammates, and tested Turkey’s back line in ways the rotated side had struggled to do.

“The objective was not just to win, but to get Christian 30-40 minutes,” Pochettino said. “He finished well and he made an impact on the pitch.”

For a team built around his cutting edge in transition and his ability to unlock compact defenses, that was the real victory of the night. The nutmeg in the buildup to Turkey’s winner will sting, but the larger takeaway is clear: Pulisic looks ready for the knockout rounds.

Best-ever group haul, little applause

Strip away the late drama and the frustration in the press room, and the U.S. leaves the group stage with a quietly historic marker.

Six points. Technically, that matches the nation’s best-ever group-stage performance, set in 1930 when wins were worth two points instead of three. Different era, different math, same total.

Pochettino wanted that context to land. He felt it hadn’t.

“No one congratulated us for finishing first in a very difficult group,” he said in another pointed exchange. “I congratulate the players, staff and fans. Now I’ll answer your question. You always learn when you are in a World Cup.”

The message was unmistakable: this, in his view, is progress, not a wobble.

Bosnia and Herzegovina await

There is no time to linger on the arguments. Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. learned its round-of-32 opponent: Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Santa Clara next Wednesday.

The stakes rise there. No rotation safety net, no dead-rubber caveats, no late consolation in the standings. Win or go home.

Pochettino insists his team is ready for that step.

“We’re a much better team now than we were before,” he said. “That will be put to the test next game.”

The group is won, the coach is defiant, and the margins only get thinner from here.