USMNT Falls to Türkiye 3-2 but Advances to FIFA World Cup Round of 32 as Group D Winners

The U.S. Men’s National Team suffered its first loss of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday night, falling 3-2 to Türkiye in its Group D finale at Los Angeles Stadium. While the result snapped the Americans’ unbeaten run, it did not change the standings, as the United States had already secured first place in the group and advanced to the Round of 32 with a team-record six points.

With the knockout stage berth already locked up, head coach Mauricio Pochettino elected to rotate his squad, making nine changes to the starting lineup from the team’s victory over Australia on June 19. It marked the most changes the U.S. has ever made between two FIFA World Cup matches. Weston McKennie captained the side, while Ricardo Pepi was the only other player to retain his spot in the starting lineup. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, defenders Miles Robinson and Mark McKenzie, and forward Brenden Aaronson all made their first appearances of the tournament.

The United States wasted no time finding the back of the net. Just 134 seconds into the match, defender Auston Trusty converted a perfectly placed corner kick from Sebastian Berhalter to give the Americans an early 1-0 advantage. The goal was the second-fastest in USMNT FIFA World Cup history, trailing only Clint Dempsey’s 30-second strike against Ghana in 2014, and marked the first international goal of Trusty’s career.

Türkiye answered quickly after conceding its first goal of the tournament. Arda Güler leveled the match in the 10th minute before Orkun Kökçü capped off a well-worked attacking sequence in the 31st minute to give Türkiye a 2-1 halftime lead. The U.S. thought it had found an equalizer later in the first half when Mark McKenzie finished off another dangerous Berhalter corner kick, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

The Americans responded almost immediately after halftime. Following a long throw-in from McKenzie, the ball bounced to Berhalter at the top of the penalty area, where he delivered a low strike into the lower left corner to tie the match at 2-2 in the 49th minute. Berhalter’s performance made history as he became the first USMNT player since records have been kept in 1966 to record both a goal and an assist in the same FIFA World Cup match. It was also his second international goal and first on the World Cup stage.

Pochettino turned to his bench in search of a winning goal, bringing on Christian Pulisic in the 58th minute for his first World Cup appearance since exiting the tournament opener at halftime. Alex Freeman, Alex Zendejas, and Sergiño Dest also entered the match, providing fresh energy as the United States controlled much of the second half and continued to push forward.

Despite holding the advantage in several statistical categories throughout the match, the United States was unable to find a late breakthrough. Instead, Türkiye delivered the decisive moment in second-half stoppage time when Kaan Ayhan slid home the winning goal after a scramble in front of the net, earning Türkiye its first points of the tournament and handing the Group D winners their first defeat.

Although disappointed with the result, the United States still finished atop Group D with six points, the highest group-stage point total in USMNT FIFA World Cup history. The Americans also established a new program record by scoring eight goals during a single FIFA World Cup campaign. Trusty’s goal marked the first time multiple U.S. defenders have scored in the same World Cup, joining Alex Freeman’s earlier goal against Australia, while the USMNT remains the only team in this year’s tournament to score three goals within the opening 15 minutes of matches.

The match also marked FIFA World Cup debuts for Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, and Alex Zendejas. Cristian Roldan was unavailable due to injury.

The United States will remain at its Southern California base camp before traveling to Santa Clara, California, for its Round of 32 matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, July 1, at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. The winner will advance to the Round of 16 as the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins.