Türkiye vs USA – Five Goals, 98 Minutes and the Saddest Win at World Cup 2026

Los Angeles. SoFi Stadium. June 26, 2026. Ninety-eighth minute.

Ján Uzun drives to the byline on the right. Low cross. Kaan Ayhan is arriving at the far post – not sprinting, just arriving, the way defenders do when they’ve tracked a run they’ve practiced a hundred times in training.

He connects. It goes in.

The substitutes from Türkiye’s bench sprint onto the pitch. The players pile on Ayhan. Someone’s shirt comes off. The crowd – a significant portion of which appears to have been waiting for exactly this – makes a noise that fills the stadium.

And none of it matters. Not one goal of it.

---

Türkiye finished last in Group D. Three points. They won the Türkiye vs USA fixture 3–2 in ninety-eight minutes of genuine, open, genuinely entertaining football – and then boarded their plane home. The Crescent Stars scored three goals against the tournament hosts and the result cost Mauricio Pochettino’s Stars and Stripes absolutely nothing. The Americans had already secured first place. They were already planning for Bosnia.

This is the specific cruelty of group stage football when the mathematics are settled before the final matchday. One team plays for everything. The other plays for form. The scoreline looks identical but the stakes are completely different.

That gap – between Montella’s side’s desperation and Pochettino’s side’s comfort – is the story of this FIFA World Cup 2026™ fixture. Not the goals. Not the five separate lead changes. The gap.

---

Türkiye scored three goals against the tournament hosts and flew home. The Stars and Stripes conceded three to an eliminated side and still face Bosnia in the Round of 32. The odds on that fixture shifted overnight — Bosnia’s coaching staff now have footage that didn’t exist 24 hours ago, and the market hasn’t fully priced what that means yet. This is the window when welcome bonuses hit their peak — WinRolla are currently offering 300% up to €8,000, Billy Bets have a World Cup Masters package worth up to €1,500, and Boomerang Bet carry AI Bet Mentor specifically built for tournament football. The platforms below are licensed in Ireland. Registration takes under two minutes.

18+ only. Gamble responsibly. gamblingcare.ie

---

Why Did Türkiye vs USA Produce Five Goals in 98 Minutes?

Simple answer: motivational asymmetry.

Longer answer, which is the one that actually explains the football.

Pochettino named a rotated lineup. The Stars and Stripes’ first-choice players – Pulisic, McKennie, the defensive unit that had held Paraguay and Australia to a combined three goals – were either resting or managing minutes. The XI that started against the Crescent Stars was not the same XI that had won the previous two group fixtures. The intensity was different. The pressing was lower. The defensive shape was less organised.

Montella’s side came out pressing from the first second. They needed the three points to avoid finishing with zero. They were already eliminated – the maths had ended their tournament the day before – but they had something to play for that the Americans didn’t: pride, and specifically the pride of not finishing last in a group that contained the hosts.

Oston Trusty’s goal in the third minute – from a corner, well-executed – gave the Stars and Stripes the lead they probably expected to hold comfortably. Arda Güler’s equaliser seven minutes later was the first signal that comfortable wasn’t on the menu.

---

Arda Güler’s Goal – The Moment That Changed the Match

Ten minutes. Güler receives the ball on the right channel, cuts inside – the movement he has been running at Real Madrid for two seasons – and hits it with his left foot across the goalkeeper.

In.

This was his first strike at a FIFA World Cup 2026™ fixture. He is 19 years old. He plays for Real Madrid. He scored in the tenth minute against a side that were already through and perhaps not entirely focused on the specific task of stopping him.

That last clause is uncomfortable but honest. The Americans’ defensive line was not at its maximum intensity. The first-choice midfield screen that would have tracked Güler’s movement into the half-space more aggressively was not on the pitch. He found the space because the space was there – partly because of his quality, partly because of Pochettino’s selection.

We started this article thinking Güler’s goal was the moment that made the contest. Then we looked at what came next. No – it was just the opening act.

---

The Five-Goal Sequence – Read It Slowly

3′ – Trusty 0–1. Corner kick. Americans ahead before the stadium has fully settled.

10′ – Güler 1–1. Right channel. Cut inside. Left foot. Real Madrid movement, applied to a World Cup stage.

31′ – Yılmaz 2–1. Orkun Kökçü through ball. Barış Yılmaz finishing. The Crescent Stars ahead for the first time. The SoFi crowd uncertain about what kind of match this has become.

49′ – Berhalter 2–2. Sebastian Berhalter – son of former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter, a detail the commentary team mentioned approximately eleven times – drives one from distance. Bottom corner. The Stars and Stripes level four minutes into the second half.

90+8′ – Ayhan 3–2. The stoppage time winner. Uzun’s cross. Ayhan’s finish. Türkiye win the encounter, lose the group, go home.

Five goals. Four different scorers from the Crescent Stars. Three lead changes. Ninety-eight minutes of football that deserved more than elimination at the end of it.

---

The Uncomfortable Question About Pochettino’s Selection

Why did the Stars and Stripes concede three goals to a side that had already been eliminated?

Rotation is the reasonable answer. Pochettino has a Round of 32 fixture against Bosnia coming up. He needed to rest legs. He needed to manage minutes. Every coach at this tournament in the same situation would have made similar decisions.

The uncomfortable part – and this is specifically uncomfortable for Pochettino, not for Montella – is what the Americans’ defensive performance communicated about their depth. The first-choice XI has been solid throughout Group D. The rotated version conceded three to a side whose tournament was already over. That gap between the first team and the alternatives is information Bosnia will have studied by the time the Round of 32 arrives.

Gregg Berhalter – the previous USMNT manager, whose son scored the equaliser – was in the stadium. He did not need to watch the final eight minutes to draw his own conclusions about the defensive depth question. The scoreline answered it clearly enough.

---

Where Türkiye Go From Here

They go home. That is the short answer.

Montella’s side finish Group D with three points from one win and two defeats. The win came on the night it was least useful. They scored three goals against the tournament hosts and it produced nothing in the standings.

This is the specific mathematics of group stage football in an expanded tournament. Three points from the final fixture means exactly as much as zero points if the first two matches have already determined the outcome. The Crescent Stars played their best football of the world cup groups stage on the evening when the Fates had already written the ending.

I’ve seen this before. Not exactly this – but the shape of it. A team that finds its form at the wrong time, scores more goals than it needed to, and drives home with the quiet frustration of knowing what they were capable of when it no longer mattered. Türkiye at USA 2026 joins that specific list.

---

For our full Group D analysis and Round of 32 preview – including the Stars and Stripes’ fixture against Bosnia – check our World Cup 2026 predictions and tips – updated throughout the tournament.

---

USA World Cup Knockout Round – What Bosnia Sees in This Result

Pochettino’s Stars and Stripes enter the Round of 32 as Group D winners with six points, the best record in their section, and a clean sheet record from the first two fixtures.

The Bosnia coaching staff watched the final group fixture and saw something different: a rotated Americans’ lineup that conceded three goals over 98 minutes, a defensive shape that dropped too deep in the second half, and a pressing system that was absent for long stretches of the contest.

This does not mean the Stars and Stripes are vulnerable. It means their depth is tested. Pochettino will restore his first-choice XI. The midfield screen returns. The pressing intensity returns.

But Bosnia will have the footage. And in the knockout rounds, footage is everything.

---

For broader USA World Cup coverage and all remaining FIFA World Cup games fixtures, our football betting tips Ireland section is updated before every match.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Türkiye vs USA result at World Cup 2026?
Türkiye won 3–2. Goals from Güler (10′), Yılmaz (31′) and Ayhan (90+8′). The Stars and Stripes scored through Trusty (3′) and Berhalter (49′).

Did USA qualify from Group D despite losing to Türkiye?
Yes. Pochettino’s side had already secured first place before this fixture. The defeat did not affect their group standing.

Who scored Türkiye’s winner against USA at World Cup 2026?
Kaan Ayhan headed in Ján Uzun’s cross in the 98th minute to complete the 3–2 victory.

Are Türkiye eliminated from World Cup 2026?
Yes. The Crescent Stars finished last in Group D with three points – one win and two defeats – and have been eliminated.

What are the final Group D standings at World Cup 2026?
USA first with six points. Australia second. Paraguay third. Türkiye fourth with three points, eliminated.

Who does USA play in the Round of 32 at World Cup 2026?
The Stars and Stripes face Bosnia and Herzegovina.

What was Arda Güler’s goal like against USA?
Güler received on the right channel, cut inside and finished with his left foot in the tenth minute – his first goal at a World Cup, scored at 19 years old.