Late goal sinks USMNT in group-stage finale against Türkiye

INGLEWOOD — The USMNT’s shot at a perfect group stage in the FIFA World Cup came up short on Thursday night.

No American squad had ever won all three games in the group stage of a World Cup or earned three positive results, but this team was on that path for most of the second half.

After falling behind in the first half, a Sebastian Berhalter 49th-minute goal gave the U.S. hope to secure at least a draw, but a late stoppage-time goal by Türkiye turned a 2-2 draw into a 3-2 defeat.

“Our goal was to be No. 1 in the group and we made that happen,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “We did want to win, but the objective was to finish first and we are first. The next stage is a final (knockout round) and we will be ready. I see it all positive.

“I feel like at the end of the day, we should be talking about the huge performance of our squad at the World Cup.”

The U.S. was forced to settle for a six-point group stage (2-0-1). It is still the best point total in the group stage in the national team’s World Cup history.

In 2022 and 2010, the Americans earned five points (two draws and one win) to advance.

With first place in Group D already clinched and advancement into the Round of 32 secured, Pochettino made nine changes to the lineup that he sent out last Friday against Australia, sending out eight players who were starting a World Cup match for the first time.

Trailing 2-1 at halftime, Berhalter, who had an assist on the Americans’ opening goal, scored from just outside of the box off a throw-in, leveling the match.

Initially, the stoppage time clock read seven added minutes. In the eighth, Türkiye broke down the U.S. defense and Kaan Ayhan slid home what proved to be the winning goal.

Before that, the Americans had moments to possibly secure the win, including a long-distance shot from Christian Pulisic in the 77th, but it sailed wide.

Türkiye gave the U.S. a late scare in the 88th minute when a long ball to Barış Alper Yılmaz found him with just Turner to beat, but he was unable to get the ball from under his feet.

The first half was a bit uneven from the U.S. perspective in front of loud crowd of 70,492 at Los Angeles Stadium.

For the third consecutive game, the Americans got on the board early. This time, however, it wasn’t an own goal. In the third minute, Berhalter swung in a corner kick, which landed at the far post at Auston Trusty’s feet. The defender settled and fired it inside the near post for a goal – the second-fastest in USMNT history.

From there, Türkiye, which had its troubles in the first two group stage games and was eliminated after the second, broke out for a pair of first-half goals, first from Arda Güler in the 10th and Orkun Kökçü in the 31st minute.

“We can go back home with our chin up,” Türkiye coach Vincenzo Montella said through translation. “A lot of the boys in the squad had to spend a lot of mental energy for what was going on. I’m super happy how they played tonight, demonstrated and showcased their skills and character. Playing the way they played tonight in an away match, if they weren’t as strong as they were they wouldn’t have played like they did.

“We played all of the games to win. Beyond the result, you can tell how a squad plays. We could have made a few things better, but we can talk about that forever, but this is football.”

The positive thing about having the group wrapped up early for Pochettino was that it allowed him to rotate his lineup with the nine changes. Only Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi remained in the starting 11 from the previous match.

Matt Turner, Trusty, Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, Miles Robinson, Berhalter, Tim Weah, Mark McKenzie and Joe Scally all moved into the starting lineup.

The rotation also kept Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson and Folarin Balogun out of danger of picking up a second yellow card. All four players had one and if any of them received another during the group finale they would have missed the Round of 32 game. None of them entered the game.

Pulisic, who missed the Australia match due to a calf injury started the game on the bench before entering in the 58th minute. It was his first action since the first half of the Group D opener against Paraguay on June 12.

“It was important for him to get the feeling,” Pochettino said of the AC Milan midfielder, who was beaten on the win on the decisive goal.

“We could have done better on some defensive plays, but it happens,” Aaronson said. “You make (nine) changes, and the team might not be used to as the guys that have been playing. It showed the hustle, the aggressiveness of the team. I think it’s a positive, because Turkey is a top team. They might have not performed their best throughout this tournament, but their quality is on the pitch and you can see it.”

While the U.S. team only wanted to get through Thursday’s match without an injury or a red card, Turkey was playing for a face-saving victory to end a disappointing tournament.

Türkiye had been held scoreless in its first two games, losing to Australia (2-0) and Paraguay (1-0). Türkiye had 62 shots combined in those two games and finally looked like the team many thought could win the group with its three-goal outing against the U.S.

“We haven’t been lucky in the first two games,” Montella said. “At least a draw (in the first two games) would have made things easier, but I wanted to see how my team would react. We’re disappointed to get out of the World Cup and go home, but we can still be proud.”

The Americans now head to Santa Clara for Wednesday’s Round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, the third-place team from Group B.

“I think the way we performed, until tonight, makes me positive about the future,” Pochettino said.

Berhalter said he doesn’t believe the Americans lost any momentum despite the frustrating finish.

“You saw the second half, how we came out,” he said. “I think we deserved more out of that game. We slipped in the last second of the game. … We gave everything we had, and we’ll be ready for the knockouts. The guys did well. We fought. Unfortunate not to get a result, but we’ll be ready for sure.”

NOTABLE

Trusty’s goal was the Americans’ seventh of the tournament, tying their scoring record for any World Cup before knockout play even begins. It was also the 173rd goal of this tournament, breaking the record for the most combined goals scored in a World Cup set in Qatar four years ago – and doing it in four fewer matches.