For 97 minutes, Mauricio Pochettino could hardly have asked for much more. Yes, the USMNT had shipped two goals against Turkey. Yes, history looked set to elude his players – never before has the USMNT won all three group games at a World Cup. Yes, there were holes to pick in this performance.But in a dead rubber against Turkey, who were already eliminated after two losses from two, the USMNT had rested key players and protected those at risk of suspension. With the score at 2-2, they were cruising into the round of 32 unbeaten and – more importantly still – unscathed.Christian Pulisic had returned from injury as sharp as ever and the likes of Sebastian Berhalter had grabbed their chance to start with both hands.Then, with the final kick of the game, Kaan Ayhan stole victory for Turkey. It was a sickener that will sting for Pochettino and for those players who were handed an opportunity to prove why the manager should alter his plans for the knockout rounds – starting against Bosnia and Herzegovina next week.But it is also a mark of how far this team has come that, in truth, the goal mattered very little. The USMNT had already sealed top spot in Group D and the hope is that this proves only a small bump on their journey towards the latter stages of this World Cup.So Pochettino’s players still huddled in prayer at full-time before starting a lap of appreciation. ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ still blared out from the speakers around SoFi Stadium. The real work starts now and, even after this result, none of the 70,000 fans here could go home feeling short-changed. Kaan Ayhan scored a last-gasp winner for Turkey in their game against the United States Ayhan scored from close range with virtually the final kick of the game on Thursday night The loss will sting for the US, but the real hard work starts now with the knockouts approachingFor one, they saw a 30-minute cameo from Pulisic that underscored once again how pivotal he will be this summer.The winger missed the second half of the win over Paraguay and the victory over Australia but didn’t appear rusty at all. That bodes well and so does this team’s form in front of goal. Never before has the USMNT scored more than seven goals at a World Cup. Pochettino’s side have now racked up eight in just three games.Only Weston McKennie – who captained the team in place of Tim Ream – and Ricardo Pepi kept their place from the win over Australia in Seattle. It showed at times, particularly in…
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2026-06-26 12:28:17
