Turkey vs. USA – Yanks chasing a historic World Cup first

Group D action at World Cup 2026 concludes on Thursday as Turkey take on the USA at Los Angeles Stadium on matchday three.

A 2-0 win over Australia the last time out put the Yanks in the knockout stage, while the Turks are out following a narrow 1-0 defeat versus Paraguay.

The US are chasing history

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been turning heads with their play, suggesting his semi-final objective may not be as far-fetched as many originally believed.

While they are still far from achieving that goal, they have looked every bit like a contending team to this stage of the tournament.

The Americans are assured of first place in their group for only the third time in this competition, with the previous two occasions being in 1930 and 2010.

A victory for them on Thursday would put this edition of the men’s team in the history books as the first US side to win all three of their group fixtures at the World Cup.

It would also mark the first time the Yanks have ever won three consecutive matches in the history of this competition.

They will enter their third group fixture this time around already assured of a spot in the knockout stage for the first time in their history.

As for Pochettino, he will surpass Bruce Arena and Robert Millar for the most World Cup wins by a US manager should his side triumph on Thursday, with the latter guiding the Americans to the semi-finals of the inaugural World Cup in 1930.

With six goals after two matchdays, the Americans have already doubled their total from the previous World Cup when they exited in the last 16.

Two golden generations with different results

On paper, many believe this edition of Turkey and the USA are the most talented that we have ever seen.

Vincenzo Montella’s men are ranked 22nd in the world, five places below the Americans according to FIFA.

Turkey, however, have failed to live up to their lofty expectations at this tournament, failing to find the back of the net so far.

The quarter-finalists from the last Euro will compete in League A of next season’s UEFA Nations League, and judging from their World Cup performance, they still have a lot of growing to do.

At this tournament,, they have had over 60% possession in both of their matches, including 78% last Friday against Paraguay.

Despite seeing so much of the ball and boasting talented attacking players like Arda Guler and Kerem Akturkoglu, they have failed to find that decisive breakthrough in this tournament.

On the other hand, perhaps the greatest crop of American players ever assembled are beginning to live up to their billing.

After failing to win the last CONCACAF Gold Cup and Nations League competitions, many questioned whether this golden generation could prove their worth on the biggest stage.

Not only have they done that so far, but the Yanks have responded to every test in front of them, passing them all with flying colours.

Folarin Balogun has shown that he is an elite striker, while the group as a whole are displaying plenty of quality moments and were in firm control of their two matches.

The most encouraging part for Pochettino is that they have done all of this without arguably the national team’s greatest export, Christian Pulisic.

Pochettino has plenty to think about

His first job is complete with the Yanks winning their group, but there is much more that Pochettino must consider going forward.

Ahead of their meeting with Turkey, the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss has his share of tough decisions to make.

Seeing the form that Balogun is in, scoring twice, plus the defensive stability that Chris Richards brings to the table, the last thing Pochettino wants is for them to be rusty in the knockout stage.

At the same time, those two, plus Antonee Robinson and Tyler Adams, are all on yellow cards and at risk of a suspension.

For all the credit Pochettino has gotten, fans may not forgive him if any of those four played and got a card or were injured against the Turks.

All four of them have featured in the starting 11 for both games, with Richards and Adams playing every minute of the World Cup so far.

Along with that, a decision must be made about the USA’s clutch performer, Christian Pulisic, in this upcoming match.

Time and again, the AC Milan attacker has delivered for his country in big moments on both the world and continental stage.

He netted the winning goal in the final of the first-ever CONCACAF Nations League and scored the only goal that sent them into the round of 16 at the 2022 finals when they beat Iran 1-0.

At that tournament, he was also involved in their two other goals, while scoring a hat trick in a 2022 qualifying victory over Panama (5-1) to secure the Yanks a place in that competition.

While his hamstring appears to be getting better, it remains to be seen if Pochettino is willing to give him even a few minutes on Thursday, given his team’s competition will only get tougher after that.