Key events
Halftime mail
Oliver Dungey:
I was going to write a rather cynical message about Poch fielding a second XI to protect his first XI from a chastening defeat by a Turkish team that’s been humiliated by bad luck. After just 3 mins of play, however, I was overcome with – what’s the opposite of cynicism? Optimism? Faith? – whatever it is, it overcame me as I marveled at this American team’s tactic of attacking with more than 2.5 players (unlike the majority of the teams languishing in third place in their group table). But that’s just what the World Cup does though, doesn’t it: it converts cynicism into joy. Gets me every time.
Scott Bassett:
What does Pochettino gain by allowing this helter-skelter performance to continue? This is madness. We need a US player to put his foot on the ball and control the pace. Allowing the team to try throwing haymakers for the whole game is a recipe for disaster.
Mary Waltz:
I have never been a fan of taking a corner short instead of sending it into the mixer. Too clever by half.
Also leaves the possibility that someone will be offside on a return pass. But occasionally, the short pass creates a good shooting or crossing angle.
Peter Oh:
Re: 45 min +5. I just finished playing pickup soccer at a park about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento and can report that we have not yet made visual contact with the Turkey clearance.
Halftime: USA 1-2 Turkey
It’s an entertaining international friendly. That’s basically it.
The takeaways would start with the fact that the US defense just isn’t up to the challenge here. Trusty and Scally have done very well going forward, but they’re being beaten, and Robinson and McKenzie are struggling.
If winning was the most important thing here, you’d see Richards and Ream racing onto the field to start the second half. But keeping Richards from picking up a second group-stage yellow in a testy game is of the utmost importance.
45 min +5 Çakır clears. The ball will eventually land, probably somewhere near Sacramento.
45 min +4 Turner snares a high cross from Aydin, and the USA build slowly … never mind, Berhalter plays long for Weah, who is offside again.
45 min +3 Reyna earns another US corner. They don’t put a lot of numbers in the box, but Trusty somehow outleaps everyone and sends a header just over the bar.
45 min +2 A couple of giveaways, a long Turkish cross, but Scally marks it well and Turner collects.
45 min +1 We’ll have six minutes of stoppage time, and we’ll start with Berhalter getting fouled and going nose-to-nose with another player, a dangerous thing to do when you’re already on a yellow.
45 min Weah momentarily beats his man but can’t quite do anything with it.
Ball is scrambled out but McKennie blasts a shot from 30 that forces a save. It’s pushed away, but no US player is there for the rebound.
44 min Foul on Turkey during the scramble off the corner kick.
I said 4-3, right? I have no idea which way.
43 min Reyna tries to find a seam to shoot but can’t find it.
Back the other way, Yildiz blasts the ball off Robinson for a corner.
42 min Berhalter alertly intercepts to break up a Turkish counter.
41 min McKennie has Scally overlapping, and his cross is blocked out for a corner. Pepi helped spark the attack.
40 min The referee calls a foul on what I can only surmise was an apparition, because no one was near the Turkish player who supposedly drew the foul. Free kick in a dangerous location. Ball goes to the far post and shot at an acute angle, deflected off Robinson.
39 min Weah gets involved, but his shot is right at the keeper, and he was offside.
39 min Berhalter wins a 50-50 ball and gets a shot to his leg for his troubles.
38 min Finally some calm possession for the USA.
37 min Turkey push through the middle, but the USA now have numbers back out of desperation.
35 min Not for the first time in the tournament, an extra ball finds its way to a spot near a throw-in.
34 min Bad giveaway at the back, and the USA are lucky that an overeager pass rolls gently to Turner.
Goal! USA 1-2 Turkey (Kökçü 31)
Overlapping run from Elmali catches Scally unaware, and he plays back for Kökçü to blast it into the net from 12 yards out.
No goal: USA
Mark McKenzie gets the ball in the net off a scramble, but a couple of players were in an offside position. The ball deflected off a Turkish defender, but he didn’t really play the ball, so the offside call stands.
Looked like the ball hit the defender’s arm, but …
28 min McKenzie gets slammed, gets up and gets in the face of his assailant. USA play on and win a corner.
Alexander Abnos
Cristian Roldan giving Sebastian Berhalter some last minute advice and coaching coming out of that hydration break. Cue Jack Edwards: “That’s why he’s here!”
Jeff Rueter
Very funny hydration break, where the US (who will play again after today) are huddled and trying to adjust for the second quarter, while Turkey (who are already eliminated) pretty much took a guzzle and went right back to their positions far away from their coach.
Mailbag
Russell Yong:
I think Turkey are nowhere near as good as many (and even they) seemed to think they were, but I will give them that they have been pretty unlucky. Anyone who takes lots of shots, even potshots, eventually sees one go in, but not them, at least not so far. I would like to see at least one goal for them today (literally everyone else except Panama has had one), though I think even a second-string USA will ultimately have too much for them.
Favourite Turkish player, well, I used to like Emre a lot before he showed himself to be a racist nitwit, so it’s a toss between Ilhan Mansiz (breakout player of WC 2002 and one all the girls in school swooned over, even the ones who didn’t care about football) and Nihat Kahveci, who was a brilliant winger and so nearly won a fairytale La Liga with Real Sociedad.
Mac Millings:
It wasn’t just Brad Pitt (10 min), it was Brad Pitt and Edward Norton! Fight Club sequel anyone? ‘Fight Club (Rule) 2: You Still Don’t Talk About Fight Club.’
Justin Kavanagh:
Any offers for the breakout star of this World Cup should come to me, Own’s Mr. 15% here in the USA. We are very pleased with his strike rate thus far, and are confident he’ll be on the score sheet again tonight. As for the USA, I sincerely hope that there’s a banner in the stadium tonight proclaiming Poch is the Bosphorus.
Everybody hydrate!
23 min Trusty intercepts a pass, and the USA clear, but it’s rushed, and Turkey reclaim possession.
22 min On the ensuing free kick, Turkey run a trick play and do not get their treat.
21 min Berhalter fouls again. Have to be careful now.
18 min Turkey’s coaches and reserve players are not happy with Mustapha Ghorbal, the Algerian referee. Berhalter gets yellow for a late tackle that ends with a hard step on an ankle, but surely some people on Turkey’s bench are flirting with yellow cards of their own.
17 min Trusty hits a ball over the top for Pepi, who has to drift over to collect it. He lays it back and the USA go from right to left but send the ball out of play.
16 min This game could end up 4-3. This second string-plus-McKennie lineup has a potent attack, but the defense look porous.
15 min Reyna joins Scally and McKennie in an attack on the right. He crosses, and it goes across for a throw-in. Weah throws it in … to a Turkish player.
13 min McKennie goes on a Han Solo-style me-against-everyone run down the right, and Turkey can’t catch him. He lays it back to Aaronson, whose first shot is blocked and whose second shot forces Çakır to save.
Fun game so far.
Goal! USA 1-1 Turkey (Güler 10)
Just sloppy at the back. McKenzie and Robinson get their signals crossed, Turkey play a quick back-and-forth, and Alper Yılmaz sets up the Real Madrid midfielder Güler to shoot past Matt Turner and equalize.
10 min Was that Brad Pitt?
Back on the field, Turkey slowly work their way through US pressure.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/jun/26/turkey-v-usa-world-cup-2026-live
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