Key takeaways:
- Kaan Ayhan scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to give Turkey a 3-2 win over the United States.
- The United States had already clinched a Round of 32 place after wins over Paraguay and Australia and will play Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday.
- Christian Pulisic returned from a calf injury as a 58th-minute substitute, his first action since the first half of the U.S. opener.
Turkey scored with the final kick Thursday night to hand the United States its first loss of the 2026 men’s World Cup, a 3-2 defeat that did not stop the Americans from advancing to the knockout round but ended their group stage on a jarring note.
Kaan Ayhan slid in at the back post in the eighth minute of stoppage time at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, securing Turkey’s only win of the tournament after it had already been eliminated. Can Uzun had pushed the ball past sprawling U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner toward Ayhan, who knocked it home to finish the match.
The United States had already clinched a place in the Round of 32 after opening Group D with a 4-1 win over Paraguay and following it with a 2-0 victory over Australia. Those two wins gave the U.S. men two victories in a single World Cup for only the third time, after 1930 and 2002, and marked their first back-to-back World Cup wins in the modern era.
The Americans will face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California. If they win, they would move on to the Round of 16 in Seattle. A quarterfinal would be in Inglewood, and a semifinal would be in Arlington, Texas. The U.S. men have won one knockout-stage match in World Cup play, a 2-0 victory over Mexico in 2002.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino made sweeping changes for the lower-stakes group finale, starting nine new players. The Guardian reported that Weston McKennie was the lone holdover from the starting lineups against Paraguay and Australia. Christian Pulisic, who had not played since leaving the opener at halftime with a calf injury, entered in the 58th minute to a loud ovation.
The U.S. began quickly in front of a sellout crowd listed by The Guardian at 70,492 at Los Angeles Stadium, FIFA’s name for SoFi Stadium during the tournament. Defender Auston Trusty scored in the opening minutes after a long Sebastian Berhalter corner reached him at the back post, giving the Americans an early lead for the third straight game.
Turkey answered in the 10th minute. Barış Alper Yılmaz and Arda Güler combined in a sharp move before Güler, the 21-year-old Real Madrid midfielder, finished past Turner. Güler then helped set up Turkey’s second goal in the 31st minute, with a sequence that ended in Orkun Kökçü scoring from close range. Turkey scored on both of its shots on goal in the first half.
Berhalter pulled the United States level in the 49th minute, running onto a loose ball about 20 yards from goal and driving a low half-volley inside the near post. The goal was the Americans’ seventh of the tournament, tying their scoring record for any World Cup before the knockout stage.
Pulisic created danger soon after entering. In the 63rd minute, his quick shot off a Berhalter pass was pushed onto the goal frame by Turkey goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır, and the U.S. could not convert the rebound.
Turkey, which had lost its first two matches despite largely dominating them statistically, had the final chance. Ayhan’s stoppage-time winner ended the Americans’ unbeaten start and gave Turkey a victory to close its World Cup campaign.
The match also carried a tournament-wide milestone: Trusty’s early goal was the 173rd of the World Cup, breaking the record for combined goals in a tournament set in Qatar four years earlier, and doing so in four fewer matches.
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