{"id":5483,"date":"2026-06-25T03:24:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T03:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=5483"},"modified":"2026-06-25T03:24:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T03:24:54","slug":"everything-to-know-about-usa-vs-turkiye-storylines-projected-lineup-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=5483","title":{"rendered":"Everything To Know About USA vs. T\u00fcrkiye: Storylines, Projected Lineup, Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            POPULAR SEARCHES\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            BROWSE BY\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>With the USA&#8217;s spot in the 2026 World Cup round of 32 clinched and the top spot in Group D secured, one might assume that the team&#8217;s final group stage match against T\u00fcrkiye at Los Angeles Stadium on Thursday is, to put it lightly, inconsequential.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>That sentiment is not shared within the U.S. men&#8217;s national team, which will be looking to win its third straight World Cup match.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Here is everything to know about USA vs. T\u00fcrkiye in their group-stage finale:<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by John Dorton\/USSF\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Wednesday what everyone already knew: None of four Americans who picked up a yellow card in one of the first two group wins will be in his starting 11 against the already-eliminated Turks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Expect several other mainstays who came into the World Cup camp either nursing an injury or having recently returned from one \u2014 Sergi\u00f1o Dest, Chris Richards, Antonee &#8220;Jedi&#8221; Robinson and 38-year-old captain Tim Ream among them \u2014 to also get a well-earned rest. The question that remains unanswered is whether headliner Christian Pulisic will be in Poch\u2019s 11. Although Pulisic insisted before the final pre-game training session that he\u2019s available after recovering from a sore calf, he admitted that playing 90 minutes isn\u2019t likely. The hunch here is that the AC Milan man comes off the bench in the second half.\u00a0<i> \u2014 Doug McIntyre<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Robin Alam\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/span> <!--&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>This week, I\u2019m going with striker Ricardo Pepi. He started his first World Cup match last week vs. Australia with Christian Pulisic out due to a calf injury. This week, I expect him to start again given that Folarin Balogun is sitting on a yellow card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Coach Mauricio Pochettino said Wednesday he plans to rest the four players sitting on yellows: Balogun, Chris Richards, Antonee \"Jedi\" Robinson and Tyler Adams. It\u2019s another huge opportunity for Pepi, who played 74 minutes and helped force the own goal vs. Australia. In this match, he could be the primary target up top and maybe score his first World Cup goal. <i>\u2014 Laken Litman<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><strong>Goalkeeper: <\/strong>Matt Freese<br \/><strong>Left back:<\/strong> Max Arfsten<br \/><strong>Center back:<\/strong> Auston Trusty<br \/><strong>Center back: <\/strong>Mark McKenzie<br \/><strong>Center back:<\/strong> Miles Robinson<br \/><strong>Right back: <\/strong>Joe Scally<br \/><strong>Central midfielder: <\/strong>Weston McKennie<br \/><strong>Central midfielder: <\/strong>Sebastian Berhatler<br \/><strong>Attacking midfielder: <\/strong>Brenden Aaronson<br \/><strong>Striker:<\/strong> Tim Weah<br \/><strong>Striker: <\/strong>Ricardo Pepi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>With the U.S. team having already won the group, Mauricio Pochettino will make a lot of changes to his lineup. While Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Chirs Richards and Antonee \"Jedi\" Robinson are carrying yellow cards, they cannot risk suspension by playing. Christian Pulisic is nearing a return, but if he is ready to play in this game, he should be off the bench. This game is also a great opportunity to rest Tim Ream, who is 38. Once you get that far, I think Pochettino rests most of the rest of the starters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>(Photo by John Dorton\/USSF\/Getty Images)<\/span> --><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The rest of the lineup nearly picks itself. Tim Weah and Brenden Aaronson are long-time veterans who haven\u2019t played as much as they would have liked, thus far. They should be hungry to prove themselves. With Adams out and Roldan injured, McKennie and Berhalter pretty much have to start. Meanwhile, Trusty, McKenzie and Robinson represent a clean swap of central defenders.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>As for goalkeeper, I think Pochettino keeps Freese in the starting lineup. Freese needs to maintain a rhythm after facing few shots in the first two games. <i>\u2014 Brian Sciaretta<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Matthew Huang\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/span> <!--&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>T\u00fcrkiye may be the most unlucky team in the World Cup and will feel hard done by entering this game. Of all the teams that are at the bottom of their group, especially the ones that have already been eliminated, the Turks are probably the most talented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The team had 62 shots in its first two games without scoring a goal. Against Australia in the opener, T\u00fcrkiye faced a side that defended extremely well and happened to get an early goal. After that, the Aussies were able to sit back and defend in a low block that was really well-executed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Then, against Paraguay, it was an even earlier goal that put T\u00fcrkiye behind. Then, the Turks played against 10 men for 50 minutes but still couldn\u2019t score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>When you look at T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s xGs (expected goals) and total number of shots, you\u2019d be shocked that it lost both matches and didn\u2019t even get a point from either. But, in reality, this team is going home after this game regardless of the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Conceding early has especially been tough for T\u00fcrkiye. It makes for a weird game because the Turks have been in control, so there\u2019s initially a sense of confidence that the goal will come. Then, as the game goes on, it gets more and more frustrating. <i>\u2014 Walker Zimmerman<\/i><\/p>\n\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY With the USA&#8217;s spot in the 2026 World Cup round of 32 clinched and the top spot in Group D secured, one might assume that the team&#8217;s final group stage match against T\u00fcrkiye at Los Angeles Stadium on Thursday is, to put it lightly, inconsequential.\u00a0 That sentiment is not shared within [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}