Pochettino plans rotations as United States faces Turkey in group finale

Mauricio Pochettino said Christian Pulisic was available for selection as the United States met Türkiye at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood with Group D already decided and a place in the Round of 32 secured. The match kicked off Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 10 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. PT, but the stakes had shifted away from qualification and toward how much risk the U.S. wanted to accept before the knockout round.

That calculation was clearest in Pochettino’s handling of his back line and midfield. Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams and Folarin Balogun each carried a yellow card into the match, and another booking would have triggered a suspension for the Round of 32 on July 1. Pochettino indicated those players were unlikely to feature, a move that protected the roster from discipline while limiting the chance of entering the knockout stage with a depleted core.

Christian Pulisic sat at the center of the same balancing act. Pochettino said the AC Milan winger was available, but he had not yet decided whether Pulisic would start or come off the bench. That choice carried outsized weight because Pulisic entered the tournament as the most experienced player on the 26-man roster, with 84 international appearances at the time of the call-up. The squad included 13 players who had also been named to the United States’ Qatar 2022 World Cup roster, giving Pochettino a base of familiarity even as he managed minutes and match fitness.

The opponent offered little margin for error, even without table consequences. The United States and Türkiye had met five times before and split those games 2-2-1, with every meeting decided by one goal or fewer. Pochettino said Türkiye deserved full respect and made clear he expected a difficult match despite the lack of knockout implications. Cristian Roldan also remained a question because of a minor muscle issue, adding another variable to a night that was as much about preserving the preferred knockout-round lineup as it was about the final score.