The U.S. men’s national team has already locked up first place in Group D. They’ve got two wins, a sold-out stadium singing John Denver, and a knockout round date waiting for them on July 1. So naturally, Thursday’s game against Turkey at Los Angeles Stadium is basically a glorified scrimmage.
But don’t tell that to Mauricio Pochettino.
The U.S. coach has some real decisions to make. Four key players are carrying yellow cards. Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, and Antonee Robinson are all one booking away from a suspension. FIFA’s group-stage rule means two yellows equals a missed game, so Pochettino will almost certainly limit their minutes or sit them entirely.
That opens the door for some bench guys to make a case for themselves. And it creates an interesting situation around Christian Pulisic.
The U.S. captain hasn’t played since he came off at halftime in the opener against Paraguay with a left calf injury. He’s been back in full training this week, which is good. But Pochettino has to decide if it’s worth giving him run against a team that’s already packing for home. Ricardo Pepi started in his spot against Australia and looked fine. The smart play might be to hold Pulisic back another game just to be safe.
The Turkey situation is bleak
Turkey is making its first World Cup appearance in 24 years, and it’s been ugly. Two games, no goals, two losses. Paraguay knocked them out on Friday with a 1-0 win in Santa Clara, and the Turkish attack has looked lost all tournament. They came in with real expectations but never got anything going.
They’ll be desperate to avoid going home with zero points and zero goals. But it’s hard to see them breaking through against a U.S. team that’s been solid defensively even if the lineup gets shuffled.
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