United States aims to stay sharp against eliminated Turkey at World Cup

The United States will meet eliminated Turkey on June 26 at Los Angeles Stadium with first place in Group D already secured and the knockout stage still ahead. Turkey dropped out after a 1-0 loss to Paraguay on June 19, leaving the match to decide less about standings than about discipline, rotation and whether the Americans can carry their momentum into July.

Mauricio Pochettino’s bigger task is no longer qualification. It is managing a roster that has already delivered back-to-back wins, including a 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle, while keeping his strongest players fresh for the round of 16, which begins July 1 in Santa Clara. U.S. Soccer named a 26-player World Cup roster on May 26, a reminder that squad management has been built into the campaign from the start, not added as an afterthought.

The discipline ledger matters most because yellow cards can reshape the knockout bracket faster than a tactical switch. Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson are among the Americans Pochettino has to monitor closely, making this final Group D match a balancing act between maintaining sharpness and avoiding avoidable suspensions. Christian Pulisic adds another layer to the decision. He has been dealing with a left calf injury, though he has returned to full training, leaving Pochettino to weigh whether to give him minutes or hold him back.

For Turkey, the game carries a different kind of pressure. FIFA’s schedule shows the side opened Group D against Australia on June 14 in Vancouver and then faced Paraguay on June 20 in the San Francisco Bay Area before reaching Los Angeles already out of contention. FIFA says Türkiye returned to the World Cup finals after a 24-year absence, qualifying through the UEFA play-offs in March 2026, so leaving the tournament without a win or even a goal would sting even in a crowded 48-team event.

That broader format matters too. The 2026 men’s World Cup is the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries, and the expanded field has made every group result feel more consequential. For the United States, though, the immediate question is narrower: can Pochettino rest the right players, keep the cards under control and still walk into the knockout stage with the same edge that got the team to the top of Group D in the first place.