LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Men’s National Team concluded the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a 3-2 loss against Türkiye. Auston Trusty opened the scoring early with his first USMNT goal. After Türkiye scored twice later in the first half, Sebastian Berhalter responded with a banger just minutes into the second half. The Crescent-Stars found the winner on the last touch of the game deep into second-half stoppage time.
Next up, the USMNT will kick off the knockout stage on July 1 at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
FT - Türkiye wins it at the death
Kaan Ayhan finds the back of the net in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time. It’ll finish United States 2, Türkiye 3 here in Los Angeles.
90’ - Few more minutes left in this one
There will be seven minutes of stoppage time for the USMNT to find a winner here at Los Angeles Stadium.
77’ - Reinforcements coming
Sergiño Dest is on for Gio Reyna, Alex Freeman replaces Joe Scally and Alex Zendejas comes on in place of Joe Scally. It’s Zendejas’ World Cup debut.
66’ - Impressive start to second half
Between the start of the second half and the hydration break, the USMNT has held 59% possession and outshot Türkiye 7-0.
Additionally, the USMNT is the fifth team to score in the first four minutes of both the first and second half of a World Cup match and the first since Nigeria vs. Argentina in 2014.
58’ - Pulisic is back
The first sub of the night for the Stars and Stripes: Christian Pulisic enters in place of Tim Weah. The forward missed last week’s match against Australia but has since returned to full fitness.
49’ - Berhalter banger!
The most-fouled player in the match, Sebastian Berhalter answers with a powerful shot from the top of the box, sneaking one inside the near post for his first World Cup goal. Level with plenty of time to go! It’s United States 2, Türkiye 2.
Berhalter becomes the first USMNT player on record (since 1966) to record both a goal and an assist in a single World Cup match. The goal was also the USMNT’s eighth of this year’s tournament, now a record for the most goals scored by the U.S. in a single World Cup.
46’ - 45 minutes to go!
No changes to start the second half. The USMNT starts with a corner and a shot on frame.
HT - 45 minutes down
Türkiye takes the lead into the break, it’s the first time the USMNT has trailed at halftime of this year’s tournament. The U.S. has twice as many shots (8-4), a few more corners (5-2) and has controlled possession (58%-42%), but is still seeking the equalizer.
45’ - USMNT searching for equalizer
Weston McKennie rips one from range, forcing a save from Türkiye’s Uğurcan Çakır before Sebastian Berhalter wins his third foul of the half. There will be six minutes of added time before the break.
31’ - Türkiye find another
Two goals on two shots for the Crescent-Stars. Orkun Kökçü sends one to the far post, out of Matt Turner’s reach. It’s United States 1, Türkiye 2.
30’ - McKenzie’s goal is called back
Just minutes after taking a big hit on the opposite end of the pitch, McKenzie almost had a perfect response, but his goal is called back for offside.
19’ - First caution of the evening
Sebastian Berhalter is booked after a strong challenge on Türkiye’s Salih Özcan.
10’ - Türkiye finds its first World Cup goal
21-year-old Real Madrid star Arda Güler has his first World Cup goal. He breaks into the box and powers a close-range shot past Matt Turner. It’s United States 1, Türkiye 1.
3’ - Early intensity, early goal!
Gio Reyna and Auston Trusty force a pair of early corners, but its the latter—the 28-year-old from Media, Penn.—who fires a laser inside the near post, under the Turkish goalkeepers arm for his first USMNT goal. It’s United States 1, Türkiye 0!
The goal at the 2 minutes, 13 seconds mark is the second-fastest in USMNT World Cup history. The first belongs to Clint Dempsey who scored after 30 seconds against Ghana in 2014.
With the score, the USMNT has scored three goals in the first 15 minutes of the first half—something that no other team has done at this year’s tournament.
1’ - Here we go!
The USMNT’s group stage finale is underway here in Southern California!
PRE-GAME - Minutes away from kickoff
The Stars and Stripes and the Crescent-Stars are making their way out of the tunnel. The USMNT is wearing the Stars Kit in the World Cup for the first time, and Türkiye is sporting its white kit. Anthems are up next at a packed Los Angeles Stadium.
PRE-GAME - The United States’ starting XI
As expected, U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Mauricio Pochettino has rolled out a heavily rotated squad for tonight’s FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage finale against Türkiye at Los Angeles Stadium. With the group already won by the Stars and Stripes, Pochettino is set to make nine changes from last Friday’s victory against Australia—the most ever for the U.S. between two World Cup matches.
The lone holdovers from last week’s match are forward Ricardo Pepi and midfielder Weston McKennie. McKennie—who will face his longtime Juventus teammate Kenan Yıldız for the first time—will captain the Stars and Stripes for the fourth time in his nearly decade-long USMNT career and the first time since a 2022–23 Concacaf Nations League match against Grenada in June 2022. McKennie is the 15th USMNT player to captain the United States in a World Cup match.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner—who started all four of the USMNT’s four matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—will earn his 55th cap just a day following his 32nd birthday. After two appearances by Matt Freese to open this year’s tournament, Turner’s start tonight marks the second time that the USMNT has deployed two goalkeepers in a single World Cup (1930). Turner is also the fifth USMNT goalkeeper to start a match in multiple World Cups.
Today’s USMNT Starting XI vs. Türkiye : 1-Matt Turner, 6-Auston Trusty, 7-Gio Reyna, 8-Weston McKennie (Capt.), 9-Ricardo Pepi, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 12-Miles Robinson, 14-Sebastian Berhalter, 21-Tim Weah, 22-Mark McKenzie, 23-Joe Scally
Substitutes: 24-Matt Freese, 25-Chris Brady, 2-Sergiño Dest, 3-Chris Richards, 4-Tyler Adams, 5-Antonee Robinson, 10-Christian Pulisic, 13-Tim Ream, 16-Alex Freeman, 17-Malik Tillman, 18-Max Arfsten, 19-Haji Wright, 20-Folarin Balogun, 26-Alex Zendejas
Not Dressed: Cristian Roldan
PRE-GAME - Türkiye’s starters
Türkiye head coach Vincenzo Montella has made seven changes to the starting XI that faced Paraguay last week: Zeki Çelik, Eren Elmalı, Orkun Kökçü, Ozan Kabak, Oguz Aydın, Salih Özcan and Baris Yılmaz come in today. Yunus Akgün is injured, Ismail Yüksek, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Merih Demiral, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Mert Müldür drop out.
Of note, rising Real Madrid talent, 21-year-old midfielder Arda Güler, earns his 33rd cap with a third consecutive World Cup start. Additionally, longtime Juventus teammate of Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, 21-year-old winger Kenan Yıldız, also starts for a second consecutive time.
PRE-GAME - What’s at stake
Though the match will have no impact on the USMNT’s first-place and Türkiye’s last-place group stage standings, the contest could prove historic for the USMNT. If the U.S. wins, it would mark the first time the USMNT has totaled three wins in a single World Cup. A U.S. draw would see this year’s team become just the fourth to to go unbeaten in group stage play (1930, 2010, 2022).
Additionally, a single USMNT goal would match an all-time Stars and Stripes record at 7. Anything more than that would set a new program record for a single World Cup.
PRE-GAME - Türkiye hungry for goals
The Crescent-Stars have fired off a whopping 62 shots across its first two group stage matches but have no goals to show for it. Per Opta, it’s the longest run of unsuccessful shots since Algeria’s 71 spanning the 1986, 2010 and 2014 tournaments.
PRE-GAME - USMNT AVAILABILITY
Aside from Cristian Roldan, who is dealing with a minor muscle strain, the remaining 25 players are available for selection. Forward Christian Pulisic, who missed the Australia game as he recovered from an injury, is available for selection according to USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
That said, as today’s match has no impact on the USMNT’s upcoming knockout stage match, Pochettino may opt to rest certain players and avoid playing those on yellow cards (defenders Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, midfielder Tyler Adams and forward Folarin Balogun).
PRE-GAME - USMNT vs. Türkiye history
The USMNT and Türkiye have met on five prior occasions—four times in non-official matches and once in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. The all-time series is an even 2W-2L-1D, with all five fixtures being determined by one goal or fewer. Across the 34-year series, each side has scored seven goals.
Following a 1-1 draw in the pair’s first meeting in Istanbul in 1991, the following four matches finished with identical 2-1 scorelines—two went the way of the U.S. (May 29, 2010, in Philadelphia, Pa. and June 1, 2014, in Harrison, N.J.) and two favored Türkiye (June 19, 2003, at the Confederations Cup in St. Etienne, France and June 7, 2025, in East Hartford, Conn.).
Of note, goalkeeper Matt Freese and defender Alex Freeman earned their first cap in that non-official match against Türkiye, both starting in the match in Connecticut last year.
PRE-GAME - Turkish Players to Watch
Despite its two-match scoreless streak, Türkiye is powered by a trio of young attacking midfielders: 21-year-old Arda Güler of Real Madrid, 21-year-old Kenan Yıldız of Juventus and 20-year-old Can Uzun of Eintracht Frankfurt. Through two matches at the World Cup, however, Türkiye’s standout players have included the more experienced defensive duo of Mert Müldür (Fenerbahçe) and Ferdi Kadıoğlu (Brighton & Hove Albion), and the veteran presence of captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter Milan) and Abdülkerim Bardakcı (Galatasaray). Notably, Yıldız is a longtime teammate of the USMNT’s Weston McKennie (107 joint appearances) and Tim Weah (59 joint appearances) at Juventus.
PRE-GAME - Türkiye in the World Cup
The Crescent-Stars have made three World Cup appearances. Türkiye made its debut at the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland, finishing with a 1-2-0 record. Türkiye enjoyed its best finish at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea Japan, advancing to the knockout stage with a 1-1-1 group stage record. In the knockout stage, Türkiye defeated co-hosts Japan in the Round of 16 and Senegal in the Quarterfinals before falling 1-0 to eventual champions Brazil in the Semifinals. The Crescent-Starsdefeated co-hosts Korea Republic in the third-place match. This year, Türkiye was eliminated from knockout stage contention after just two matches due to shutout losses against Australia and Paraguay.
PRE-GAME - The Crescent-Stars
Türkiye is currently ranked 32nd in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Rankings, dropping 10 spots since the last official ranking on June 11 due to a pair of losses in World Cup play.
In its last participation in official competitions, Türkiye advanced to the Quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2024 and soon thereafter earned promotion to League A of the UEFA Nations League thanks to a strong performance in the 2024–25 edition of the tournament.
The Crescent-Stars prepared for UEFA World Cup qualifiers with a 2-1 victory against the USMNT last June before falling 1-0 against Mexico. In World Cup qualifiers, Türkiye finished second in Group E with a 4-1-1 record, advanced to the playoffs where it defeated Romania and Kosovo to book its spot in its third World Cup as Path C Playoff winners.
Türkiye was riding an eight-match unbeaten run entering the FIFA World Cup 2026 but dropped its first two fixtures at the tournament via shutout losses against Australia and Paraguay. Türkiye has not lost twice in a row since March 2024, and the Crescent-Stars have not suffered back-to-back shutout losses since June 2021 in UEFA Euro 2020.
PRE-GAME - How to Watch
The match will be broadcast live on FOX with English commentary. Spanish commentary can be found on Telemundo and Peacock starting at 10 p.m. ET. Pregame coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.
Fans can stream USMNT vs. Türkiye on the FOX One app with English commentary and Telemundo and Peacock with Spanish commentary starting at 10 p.m. ET. Pregame coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.
Spanish-language commentary can be found on Fútbol de Primera. Coverage of the United States vs. Türkiye will begin at 9:30 p.m. ET.
