Preview: Turkey vs USA - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to end the group stage with a perfect record for the first time this century, the USA will host Turkey in their final Group D outing of World Cup 2026 on Thursday at Los Angeles Stadium.

A 2-0 win over Australia last Friday put the co-hosts on top of their group with the Turks at the bottom with no points following a 1-0 defeat versus Paraguay.

Match preview

Competing in the finals for the second time in their history, the Turks have been a far cry from the side that finished third in 2002.

While this golden generation have already been eliminated from the knockout portion of this tournament, Vincenzo Montella will stay on as manager.

The former Italian international can claim the first victory for this team on Thursday since a 3-2 triumph over the 2002 co-hosts South Korea in the third-place playoff match that year.

Meanwhile, the national team is in danger of suffering three successive defeats on the international stage this week for the first time since Euro 2020, when they finished the group phase of that tournament without a point.

At the same time, they could go at least three matches without scoring an international goal since 2010-2011 when they failed to find the back of the net in four straight encounters.

Turkey have failed to win two of their three World Cup group fixtures when netting the opener, while losing their only two such games at this stage after conceding first.

Thursday will mark their first-ever meeting with a CONCACAF side in this competition, with the Turks winning their previous match against the USA last year, 2-1 in East Hartford.

Everything is going right for the US at this tournament, as they are assured of a place in the knockout stage after two matches for the first time in their World Cup history.

A victory on Thursday would mark the first time the national team will have claimed three consecutive victories in this competition, while the group favourites according to our World Cup betting strategy are already assured of the top spot.

Mauricio Pochettino can make some history himself with a win against Turkey, which would make the former Tottenham boss the most successful American manager at the World Cup, surpassing Bruce Arena and Robert Millar’s mark of two triumphs in this competition.

Unlike past World Cups, the US have traditionally been the aggressors against their opponents this time around, with 300 high-intensity pressures, among the most in the tournament so far.

They have done this despite being without captain Christian Pulisic for much of the tournament, with the Yanks stringing together 77.5% of the attacking third passes in their two matches thus far.

We have seen virtually no nerves from the Yanks in the early stages of their games, with the US netting in the opening 15 minutes of their first two matches, the first host nation to do so since France in 1938.

On Thursday, they can claim their first triumph against Turkey since 2014 when they beat them 2-1 in a friendly at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.

Turkey World Cup form:

Turkey form (all competitions):

USA World Cup form:

USA form (all competitions):

Team News

Despite a calf strain sustained earlier, Kenan Yildiz should be available once again for Turkey, with the Juventus midfielder seeking his 31st cap for the national team.

Hakan Calhanoglu can move into third for all-time goals for the senior side, currently even with Tuncay Sanli on 22, while Ugurcan Cakir will move into fourth for all-time clean sheets with his next one for the national team.

Fenerbahce striker Kerem Akturkoglu will move into the top-10 regarding goals for this team with his next strike, as he and Real Madrid’s Arda Guler netted in their previous match against the US last year.

With first place locked up, American captain Christian Pulisic may be rested for this encounter, with the AC Milan attacker just one goal away from equalling Eric Wynalda for the fourth-most in team history.

Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson are all on yellow cards and might be rested by Pochettino on Thursday as a result.

Balogun can become the first American to score at least three goals in a single World Cup since Bert Patenaude in 1930, while an own-goal from Cameron Burgess and one by Alex Freeman led them to victory over Australia.

Turkey possible starting lineup:

Cakir; Muldur, Demiral, Kabak, Kadioglu; Ozcan, Calhanoglu; Akgun, Guler, Yildiz; Gul

USA possible starting lineup:

Freese; Scally, McKenzie, Trusty, Arfsten; Roldan, Berhalter; Weah, Reyna, Zendejas; Pepi

We say: Turkey 1-2 USA

There will not be as much pressure on Turkey in this one, but given the confidence and overall depth the co-hosts have displayed, we expect the Yanks to end the group phase with another triumph.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.