Auston Trusty scores first USMNT goal in World Cup opener against Turkey

Auston Trusty needed only three minutes to put the United States in front against Türkiye, finishing Sebastian Berhalter’s corner with his left foot from close range at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California. The goal was Trusty’s first senior international score for the USMNT and arrived in the closing Group D match of the 2026 World Cup.

The finish offered an early glimpse of what Mauricio Pochettino is trying to build: a team willing to attack quickly, use dead-ball service with purpose and let center backs become threats in the penalty area. Trusty did not need extra touches. He brought the ball down cleanly and placed it tight to the post, a sharp, decisive action that gave the U.S. an immediate edge against a qualified opponent.

U.S. Soccer said the starting XI was the youngest the USMNT had used at the 2026 World Cup to that point, averaging 26 years and 200 days. It was also, by the federation’s count, the 10th youngest lineup the United States has ever deployed in a World Cup match. That age profile mattered in a match shaped as much by competition for roles as by the scoreline itself.

The U.S. entered already confirmed as Group D winners after a 2-0-0 start, while Türkiye arrived eliminated after a winless run. The matchup also carried recent history: the sides had met five times before, four in non-official matches and once in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. Türkiye had beaten the United States 2-1 in East Hartford, Connecticut, in a June 2025 friendly, a match in which Jack McGlynn scored in the opening minute.

Trusty’s goal did not settle the afternoon. Arda Güler later equalized for Türkiye, and Orkun Kökçü put the Europeans ahead, turning the U.S. lead into an early test of resilience. Even so, the opening sequence showed a national team that can create danger from a set piece, deliver the ball with precision and lean on a younger lineup that is still battling for places before bigger tournaments arrive.