With the group stage in the books, the United States can turn its full attention to the knockout rounds.
With a 3-2 loss to Turkey at SoFi Stadium on Thursday, the U.S. finished its final group-stage match, setting the stage for the knockout rounds in the round of 32 in Santa Clara on Wednesday.
With nine different starters taking the field, Auston Trusty got the scoring started for the Americans just two minutes into the match. Turkey responded with two goals and entered halftime with a 2-1 lead.
The second half saw the United States respond thanks to a hard strike from Sebastian Berhalter in the 49th minute. Turkey answered back with the game winning goal in the final minutes.
Despite the loss, the match did not affect the outcome for the Americans in the group standings.
“We’ll be ready,” Berhalter said after the match when asked about the knockout round.
With the U.S. locking up the top spot in the group, coach Mauricio Pochettino made nine changes to the starting eleven, which the team saw as a positive.
“He didn’t have to change nine to 10 guys, but he does because he believes in us, and that’s what you want as a coach,” midfielder Brendan Aaronson said.
The United States ends the group stage with eight goals, the most produced by the men’s national team at any single World Cup. The success for the Americans will come down to the play of star player Christian Pulisic, who returned to action after missing the previous four halves due to a calf injury.
“He came on, he was electric as always,” midfielder Brendan Aaronson said.
“We were born to play in these moments and you know that’s all you can do is you can’t let the pressure in the situation get to you,” Aaronson said.
