Folarin Balogun (r) of the U.S. celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with Weston McKennie during their World Cup match against Paraguay on June 12 in Inglewood, Calif. The U.S. defeated Paraguay and, later, Australia. The U.S. wraps up group play against Turkey on Thursday evening. Win, lose or draw, the U.S. has already won its group and will advance to the knockout round.
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
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Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The U.S. men’s national soccer team faces a decisive FIFA World Cup match against Turkey on Thursday night. Regardless of the outcome, their position in the knockout round remains secure.
However, a win would mark a significant historical achievement.
With earlier victories over Paraguay and Australia, and Turkey’s losses to these same teams, the U.S. team has already clinched their group, ensuring a favorable start in the knockout stage.
Despite this success, the team has yet to win more than two matches in a single World Cup. Achieving a third victory would represent a new milestone, aligning with their ambitious tournament goals and confidence in realizing them.
Defender Mark McKenzie emphasized the team’s determination, stating, “The group stage is not done yet. We want to end it the right way. We want to end it the way we came into it and continue to build off of the momentum that we’ve been creating,” during a press conference on Wednesday.
Since the match’s result does not influence knockout-round rankings, the U.S. has the option to rest key players who are at risk of suspension. Defenders Antonee Robinson and Chris Richards, midfielder Tyler Adams, and forward Folarin Balogun could be benched to avoid a second yellow card, which would lead to suspension in the Round of 32. Any single yellow cards will be wiped clean after the group stage.
Forward Christian Pulisic, who missed the game against Australia due to a minor calf injury, is expected to be available for this match.
Turkey entered the World Cup with high hopes, bolstered by young talents like 21-year-olds Arda Güler from Real Madrid and Kenan Yildiz from Juventus. The team was anticipated to be a strong contender for a deep run in the tournament.
However, their journey ended prematurely with a loss to Paraguay, which, coupled with the U.S. victory over Australia, led to their elimination. This prompted apologies from Turkey’s players to their supporters.
Kenan Yildiz, reflecting the team’s sentiments, expressed a commitment to perform well in their final match against the U.S., saying, “We had high expectations. I know because all of our country was supporting us and thought we will come very far. Hopefully for the next game we can make a good result and go out with pride.”
In their last encounter in June 2025, Turkey defeated the U.S. 2-1 in an international friendly. The U.S. lineup for that match was without several key players, including Pulisic, Robinson, Balogun, and Weston McKennie.
Chris Richards, reflecting on the previous game, stated, “We had a really young team, but we went out there and put in a good performance. I don’t think the result necessarily reflected how we played. Whoever’s on the field, I know we’re going to go out there and give 110 percent.”
