They were already out of the tournament. No amount of goals or heroics at the Los Angeles Stadium on June 26 was going to change that. But somebody forgot to pass that information to Türkiye, which produced one of the most entertaining matches of Group D and sent itself home with a 3-2 win. The victory was sealed by substitute Kaan Ayhan in the 98th minute. The USA lost but finished top of Group D regardless. Türkiye exit. Neither of those facts quite captures the evening.
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Berhalter Opens, Güler Responds
Mauricio Pochettino made nine changes to his starting lineup — a rotation that spoke volumes about the USA’s comfort in their qualification position and their intent to keep key players fresh for the knockout rounds. The fringe players responded with energy from the first whistle.
Three minutes in, Sebastian Berhalter delivered a corner kick into the Turkish box, and Auston Trusty rose to power a header past Uğurcan Çakır. One-nil USA. A bright start from a team full of players wanting to make a case for starting in the Round of 32.
Seven minutes later, Türkiye levelled — and did so with something considerably more eye-catching. Barış Alper Yılmaz and Oğuz Aydın worked the ball quickly through the channels and found 21-year-old Arda Güler in space. The Real Madrid midfielder took one touch, composed himself, and slotted the equaliser past Matt Turner as if the stakes were irrelevant. One-one.
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Güler Orchestrates the Lead, Berhalter Restores Parity
In the 31st minute, Güler was at it again. He moved the ball quickly and picked out Barış Alper Yılmaz in a pocket of space inside the box, and the winger finished from close range. Two-one Türkiye. It was a goal built on the kind of slick, fast-thinking football that had frustrated stronger opponents across this group stage.
The USA’s response came four minutes into the second half. Turkish hesitation at the back allowed Sebastian Berhalter to pick up a loose ball roughly 20 yards from goal. He hit it hard and clean, and it flew into the net before Çakır could react. Two-two. Berhalter had now been involved in both USA goals — the corner for Trusty’s header and the strike of his own — in a performance that would have done his case for tournament minutes no harm at all.
Pulisic Returns. And Hits the Post.
In the 58th minute, captain Christian Pulisic came off the bench — his first appearance since picking up a calf injury weeks earlier. The impact was almost immediate. Five minutes after coming on, Pulisic collected a pass from Berhalter, drove towards the goal, and struck the post. It was the sort of moment that reminded everyone watching exactly what the USA had been missing and exactly why getting him right for the knockouts matters so much.
For the next half hour, the match hung at two-two. Both sides created openings. Neither could find the third goal — until stoppage time rewrote the story entirely.
Ayhan in the 98th. Türkiye’s Farewell.
The clock had passed 90 minutes. It looked like the USA had managed to level the match. Then the American penalty area descended into chaos. Can Uzun burst forward, pushed the ball past a sprawling Matt Turner — and there was substitute Kaan Ayhan, arriving late, sliding in to knock it home. Three-two. Ninety-eight minutes. The final kick of the match.
The Los Angeles Stadium was stunned into silence for a moment, then the Turkish section roared. It did not change anything in the standings. Türkiye were still out. But it was a perfect exit — a team that had nothing left to play for, playing like they had everything to prove.
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The Bigger Picture
The USA top Group D with their strongest rotation rested and Pulisic returning to fitness — which, from Pochettino’s perspective, was the only thing that really mattered tonight. Türkiye converted three of their four shots on target into goals and left the tournament with a performance that reflects the quality Vincenzo Montella’s side showed in flashes across the group stage. They exit. They do so well.
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