The preliminaries are over for the United States, who are moving on to the serious business of the World Cup knockout stage.
That’s their approach after a stunning 3-2 loss to Turkey in Inglewood, Calif., on Thursday in the final and meaningless Group D match.
The US (2-1-0, 6 points) entered the match having already won the group, knowing they will meet Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 on July 1 in Santa Clara, Calif. As a result, US coach Mauricio Pochettino rested nine of his 11 starters from the win over Australia in the previous match.
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Even so, there was a sting to the defeat when Kaan Ayhan scored on the last meaningful kick of the match in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time. Turkey (1-2-0, 3 points) entered the night already eliminated from contention after losses to Australia and Paraguay.
“I felt like we had a lot of opportunities during the game. They didn’t,” US defender Auston Trusty said. “I think they had like three shots on goal. Just unfortunately lost, but take it and keep going.
“Obviously, we won the group, that’s a positive. I think it’s just one of those that you put this behind us, learn from it. We had a lot of chances. Again, we’ve got to keep it out of the net.”
Trusty scored in the third minute before Turkey finally got their first goal of the tournament in the 10th minute when Arda Guler, a 21-year-old star for Real Madrid, tied it 1-1. Baris Alper Yilmaz made it 2-1 in the 31st.
Sebastian Berhalter, who got the assist on Trusty’s goal, scored in the 49th minute to make it 2-2.
“I wanted to win the game so badly,” Berhalter said. “I’m super, super happy and proud to help the team, but in the end, we didn’t win.
“We’ve got more to come, though, and I’m super excited for the group. … We’ve been doing a good job. We’ve been controlling games well, having great starts, and for us it’s just little details and fine-tuning some things and getting guys healthy, ready to go, and I know we’ll be ready.”
Weston McKennie is not worried
Considering the new lineup, US midfielder Weston McKennie isn’t worried about any lingering effect.
“I think the momentum will be there for sure,” he said. “Everybody wants to go into the next game winning the game, the previous game, but obviously we didn’t do that tonight and I think that’s going to motivate us even more to try and prove that the first two games weren’t just a coincidence.
“So, yeah, I think the momentum will still be there, the vibes will still be there with the team and we’ll look forward to who we have to play next.”
A major reason for the positive outlook was the return of Christian Pulisic from a left calf injury that cost him the second half of the opener against Paraguay and the entire Australia match.
Pulisic entered in the 58th minute to a huge ovation from the home crowd. Four minutes later, he got behind the defense, forcing a save by Ugurcan Cakir. Less than two minutes after that, a ball to Pulisic went off his shin and Cakir stretched to make a fingertip save at the top right corner.
In the 79th minute, Pulisic unleashed a shot from the right side of the box that was inches wide of the left post. In his 32 minutes, he had 25 touches and three shots, two on target.
“He’s a special player. I think it’s no doubt that he adds something to the group,” McKennie said. “He adds his one-on-one qualities. … Whenever the game might look dry or the game isn’t creative or something, he can come in and be that player to create something out of thin air, so it was good to see him back on the pitch.”
Five players besides Trusty and Berhalter made their first World Cup starts: Brenden Aaronson, Mark McKenzie, Gio Reyna, Miles Robinson and Joe Scally.
As expected, yellow-card holders Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson did not play, as coach Mauricio Pochettino did not want to risk another that would result in a suspension for the next match. Single yellow cards are reset after the group stage.
“All 26 players that we have on this roster can step up and do the job,” McKennie said. “Turkey was just very clinical today and finished their chances, but it could be avoided from us. But we believe in everyone that’s on this roster and everyone, when they’re called upon, will step up and contribute to the team in the bigger picture.”
