Pochettino's U.S. Team Faces Setback Against Turkey

Mauricio Pochettino has spent 18 months kicking down doors with the U.S. national team. Formations bent to his will, hierarchies shuffled, young players told bluntly to stop asking why and start asking why not when it comes to a deep World Cup run.

On Thursday night, the gamble finally bit back.

Kaan Ayhan’s goal deep into stoppage time gave Turkey a 3-2 win, snatching away the Americans’ unbeaten record with almost the last touch of their group stage. A bruising reminder that even revolution has its limits.

Rotation, risk, and a late sting

With the U.S. already guaranteed a place in the knockout rounds, Pochettino went all-in on rotation. Nine changes. Bench emptied. A group-stage finale turned into a live-fire exercise for his wider squad.

By the 76th minute, when Alejandro Zendejas came on, the U.S. had already used 23 players in this World Cup — a new American record. Twenty-one different starters across three games. No U.S. coach had ever rolled the dice like this on the biggest stage.

This time, the numbers didn’t fall his way. Turkey, already eliminated and winless, took its only victory of the tournament with a last-gasp punch to the gut.

Whether that strips the U.S. of the swagger it built in dominant wins over Paraguay and Australia will be clear soon enough. Next up is Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, with the U.S. sitting at 2-1-0 and facing its first real moment of truth.

Pochettino insists the foundation is stronger, not weaker.

“The objective was to finish first and we are first,” he said. “Now it is the next stage and it is going to be a final. And we are ready. We are much better than before that game because we had players now with 90 minutes in their legs and performing and really to help if we need from the beginning or after from the bench.

“It’s all positive. And I am so positive and I am happy.”

A flying start, then a sharp response

For a while, he looked right again.

Barely three minutes in, Auston Trusty, a surprise starter, announced himself with authority. Sebastian Berhalter, also making his first World Cup start, whipped a long right-footed corner across the face of goal. Trusty killed it with his first touch, then hammered a left-footed shot from the far edge of the six-yard box between Ugurcan Cakir and the near post.

Second-fastest U.S. goal in World Cup history. A dream start, and another tick in the “Pochettino the genius” column.

The dream lasted seven minutes.

In the 10th minute, Arda Guler slipped away from Mark McKenzie at the top of the box, latched onto a pass from Kenan Yildiz and lifted a left-footed finish over Matt Turner. Turkey’s first shot of the night. The first shot Turner had faced in the entire tournament. The first time the U.S. had surrendered a lead at this World Cup.

The second Turkish effort brought more damage. Just after the half-hour mark, Eren Elmali drove a ball across the face of goal, Orkun Kokcu arrived at the edge of the six-yard box and simply redirected it into the net. Suddenly, the U.S. trailed for the first time in the tournament.

Turkey, back at a World Cup for the first time since 2002 and already out, played with edge and irritation from the opening whistle. Every duel had a little extra on it. This was their last night on the stage, and they treated it like a grudge match.

Berhalter steps up, Pulisic returns

The U.S. needed a response. It came from the same player who had helped light the fuse at kickoff.

Four minutes into the second half, a set piece broke loose and the ball spilled out to the top of the area. Berhalter, hovering in the right pocket, had time and space. He stayed calm, swung through it with his right foot and skipped a shot just inside the near post.

“The ball just popped out and I knew if I just stayed calm and just made a swing motion, that I had a chance,” he said. “You practice those a lot and to see that go in was awesome.”

A goal and an assist in his first World Cup start. On a night of rotation, he made his case emphatically.

Ten minutes later, the crowd got what it had been waiting for. Christian Pulisic stepped off the bench, his left calf finally deemed ready after he’d been sidelined since the first half of the opening game.

He changed the temperature instantly.

Driving up the left wing, he carved out three dangerous chances in short order, stretching Turkey’s back line and jolting the U.S. into a higher gear. The final ball, the finishing touch, never quite arrived. Those misses would linger.

Because the punishment was still to come.

Ayhan’s dagger and a test of resolve

Deep into stoppage time, with both sides scrapping in the box, the ball broke loose in front of Turner’s goal. Ayhan, hemmed in by three U.S. defenders, reacted quickest in the scramble and forced it home.

Turkey’s only win of the tournament. The U.S. handed its first defeat with seconds left to play.

“You can always take these things as fuel, having that moment in the last one where they score,” Brenden Aaronson said. “It’s tough. We wanted to walk away with no losses in the group stage. But it was still a fantastic group stage.

“Not worried whatsoever. We’re going to move on to the next one and be ready to go for Bosnia.”

Berhalter took a similar view. For him, the bigger story was the breadth of contribution, not the late sting.

“We know everyone’s ready to step up at any moment,” he said. “I think you saw that today. We let some moments get away from us, but I thought the performances overall were good.

“It’s every little kid’s dream across the United States of America to play in a home World Cup, and just in a World Cup in general. People made their debuts today, so congratulations everyone. This is what everybody looks forward to.”

Pochettino has turned that dream into a ruthless selection policy. He has tested his depth, trusted his squad and accepted the risk that comes with it. Against Turkey, that risk finally carried a price.

Now comes the only measure that matters. With Bosnia and Herzegovina waiting in Santa Clara, will this defeat linger in their legs, or sharpen their edge when the knockout lights come on?