Turkey defeated a largely second-string US men's national soccer team 3-2 on June 25 at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California, scoring a late winner through Kaan Ayhan in stoppage time around the 98th minute [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The US had taken an early lead in the 3rd minute through defender Auston Trusty but trailed 2-1 at halftime after goals from Arda Guler and Baris Yilmaz for Turkey [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5]. Sebastian Berhalter leveled the score with a long-range volley early in the second half for the US, who fielded mainly second-string players with nine changes to the lineup made by coach Mauricio Pochettino [1, 2, 3, 7, 4, 5].
The match drew a sellout crowd of 70,492 fans in Southern California [1, 2, 7, 5]. Turkey entered the match already eliminated from the World Cup, while the US had secured first place in Group D and advancement to the knockout round prior to kickoff [2, 8, 6, 9, 5]. Christian Pulisic made a notable return to the US lineup during the game and received a loud reception from fans despite narrowly missing scoring chances [10, 5].
Turkey took advantage of a rebound from close range for Ayhan's winning goal in extended stoppage time to salvage pride with their first win of the tournament before heading home [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5]. Pochettino said the US squad was satisfied despite the loss, emphasizing their main objective was winning Group D, which they accomplished. "At the moment no one congratulated us for finishing first in our group. I congratulate the players, the staff and the fans to finish first in a very difficult group," he said [8, 6, 11, 9].
Meanwhile, Australia drew 0-0 with Paraguay in the other Group D match, ensuring both teams' qualification to the round of 32 knockout stage [10, 9, 5]. The US will next face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 on July 1, 2026, in Santa Clara, California [2, 8, 3, 4, 6, 9].
