Türkiye stuns USMNT with 98th-minute winner in World Cup finale

Kaan Ayhan’s final-kick goal in the 98th minute handed Türkiye a 3-2 win over the United States on June 25 and closed the USMNT’s perfect group-stage run with a jolt that went beyond the standings. The Americans had already clinched first place in Group D before kickoff, but a night that began with Auston Trusty’s third-minute opener ended with a stoppage-time collapse that exposed how thin the margin becomes when a host nation rotates heavily and loses its rhythm.

Mauricio Pochettino made nine changes to the starting XI, keeping Christian Pulisic on the bench until the second half as he continued to recover from the left calf injury he sustained in the June 12 opener against Paraguay. Türkiye answered Trusty’s early strike through Arda Güler and Barış Alper Yılmaz, then watched Sebastian Berhalter pull the U.S. level early in the second half. Pulisic entered in the 58th minute, but the Americans never fully steadied the match, and Ayhan finished it on the last kick.

The defeat matters less for the table than for the questions it leaves behind. The U.S. is still scheduled to face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, June 30, and Pochettino’s selection against Türkiye showed the tension between preserving legs and preserving chemistry. Nine new starters gave the coach a fuller look at his depth, but the final minutes showed how quickly control can slip when the back line and midfield are no longer moving in familiar patterns.

That tension was visible on the sideline as well. FOX Sports cameras caught Pochettino with a subdued reaction when Türkiye scored, a flat response that matched his broader framing of the game as a group-stage test rather than a must-win. The result still snapped the U.S. unbeaten run and turned a breezy qualification story into a sharper assessment of whether this squad can absorb pressure when a match tilts late.

The backdrop only sharpened the stakes. FIFA said the 2026 World Cup had drawn 3,605,357 spectators by June 25, passing the previous record of 3,587,538 set in 1994, with stadiums running more than 99% full on average. In a tournament packed with home crowds and bigger expectations, the U.S. lost not only a match but a little of the comfort that came with its early momentum. The knockout rounds now begin with a simpler test: whether this group can respond to a gut-punch with the composure that serious ambitions demand.