Nutshell: Notes for the USMNT in Loss to Türkiye
- Steve Titcomb
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
The USMNT loss to Türkiye was a mixed bag of good and bad.
Rolling into their third game, the USMNT was coming off two convincing wins, locking up the number one spot in their group. However, with four starters on yellow cards (two yellows in this round would keep them out of the first knockout game), we wondered who Mauricio Pochettino would start against Türkiye. Only Weston McKennie, who continues to be the point man for the midfield, and Ricardo Pepi up front, were kept in the starting lineup.
Early Struggles
Early on, this change of chemistry in the lineup did nothing to deter the USMNT from starting quick, with a goal in under three minutes. They had a few more chances early in the half, but a costly defensive error allowed Türkiye to tie it back up. Türkiye kept up the high energy after that and the USMNT could not keep up. Another beautiful goal from Türkiye had our boys down 2-1 at the half.
Adjustments and Heartbreak
Half time did the USMNT good though, as they came out strong at the start of the second half, with Sebastian Berhalter skipping a beautiful ball right past the Turkish keeper. The remainder of the second half looked to be in the USA’s favor, but they just couldn’t get the ball to the back of the net. Sloppy D and a nice pass in the final moments of the game saw Türkiye pick up their first win of the tournament, the the USMNT suffered their first loss.
A disappointing result, but this USMNT loss still featured a lot of heart and some reserves got quality minutes. Key takeaways from the game are promising. On set pieces, especially on corner kicks, the USMNT looked really strong. The first goal was off one, and they came close several times throughout the game. Christian Pulisic played a little over 30 minutes and looked good, moving like the calf injury was behind him. With him, McKennie and Tyler Adams starting in midfield and Giovanni Reyna and Berhalter off the bench, I like our chances against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Defensive Issues
The defense was the weakest point of the USMNT loss, and though they had the reserves in, that is slightly concerning. The pacing of Türkiye, especially in the first half, had the team looking slow at times. Timothy Weah on the left wing was outclassed and struggled to create any chances near the 18, as he struggled to hold onto the ball.
A hard-fought game with a heartbreaking finish, the short-handed USMNT still had the willingness to battle. That can only be a good thing moving into the knockout rounds.
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