USMNT aims to finish group play unbeaten against Turkey

The USMNT closed group play Thursday against Turkey at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles with first place in Group D already secured, shifting the match from survival to calibration. Kickoff was set for 10 p.m. ET on FOX, and the stakes centered on whether Mauricio Pochettino could protect momentum without dulling the edge the team carried into the knockout round.

Pochettino named his 26-man squad on May 26 in New York, then settled the group at Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine, California, where U.S. Soccer has designated the site as the USMNT’s Team Base Camp Training Site for the duration of FIFA World Cup 2026. The camp opened after a public training session following tune-up matches against Senegal and Germany, giving the staff a long runway to sort roles before the tournament's most unforgiving phase. CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes has been reporting from the team’s base camp in California.

The U.S. entered the Turkey match on the back of a 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle, its second straight group-stage victory. That result put the Americans in strong position before kickoff and left Pochettino with a familiar tradeoff: keep the strongest possible group on the field to chase a perfect round, or spread minutes across a roster that will soon need to survive knockout-round pressure over a much shorter turnaround.

Turkey arrived as the final group-stage opponent in a game that could still shape the U.S. bracket path, even after the Americans had clinched the top spot in Group D with one game to spare. The larger benchmark was clear. A win or even a result against Turkey would keep the Americans moving toward becoming the first U.S. men’s team to finish World Cup group play 3-for-3, a mark that would reflect both consistency and depth at a moment when the tournament becomes far less forgiving.