Sebastian Berhalter scores as USMNT doubles lead over Türkiye

Sebastian Berhalter pushed the United States into a 2-0 lead against Türkiye with a right-footed finish from inside the area that slipped inside the post at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California. The goal came in the Group D match of the 2026 World Cup on June 25 and briefly gave the USMNT the kind of attacking cushion it has been trying to build from midfield.

The strike added another milestone for the 25-year-old Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder, who made his U.S. senior debut on June 11, 2025, against Switzerland in Nashville. He scored his first international goal in a 5-1 win over Uruguay on Nov. 19, 2025, in Tampa, and the finish against Türkiye strengthened his case as a useful attacking option in a home World Cup cycle.

That mattered because the group stage opponent carried its own weight. U.S. Soccer noted before kickoff that the United States and Türkiye had met five times previously, four times in friendlies and once at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. This meeting came on home soil in a tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, where every point in the opening phase carries outsized importance.

Berhalter’s goal also spoke to a broader question inside Mauricio Pochettino’s squad: whether the Americans can generate enough scoring from places beyond the obvious names. U.S. Soccer listed the USMNT’s 2026 record at 3 wins, 0 draws and 4 losses entering the match, a mark that left little margin for wasted chances in a group against a European opponent with knockout-stage level pressure. A midfielder arriving into the box and finishing through traffic gave the U.S. a direct answer on one play, even if the larger question remained.

The lead did not survive the full night. The USMNT ultimately fell 3-2 in stoppage time, turning Berhalter’s second U.S. goal into only a brief hold on control. For a team trying to define its attacking identity before the bracket tightens, the moment was both encouraging and unresolved.