My friends, I’m nearly speechless. I know that’s hard to believe, but seriously. Group winners after just two matches? A single goal conceded and six scored? The boys are soaring through the Group Stage, and what a relief it is. I can’t tell you how many worst-case scenarios ran through my head between the draw and now: But they’re all null and void. 

We won the group, folks. It’s real. 

Yes, an expanded field always meant that the earlier stages of the tournament were always going to logically and statistically be a little “easier,” but no team is truly “easy” to beat at this competition. Success is success, and wins deserve to be celebrated, no matter the format in which they’re earned. With two emphatic wins over spirited opponents, the Red, White, and Blue are enjoying their most dominant World Cup performance since the very first edition of the tournament in 1930, and it’s on home soil. Pinch me. 

Now, a match against Türkiye without any real stakes is the last remaining task to complete in the Group Stage, presenting a unique situation for Mauricio Pochettino and the boys to deal with. 

History

The history here is remarkably similar to the history against Australia. The US and Türkiye have played one another exactly five times: four times in friendlies and once in the 2003 Confederations Cup, a tournament in which Türkiye finished third. The all-time record is currently split at two wins apiece and one draw, with the most recent friendly match in June of 2025 going the way of Türkiye by a 2-1 scoreline. As far as the stats go, it couldn’t be much closer between these nations.

USMNT

The Yanks came to play. Not only did they play fantastic attacking football in their dominant win over Paraguay, but they showcased versatility and depth when they changed formation and won without star player Christian Pulisic against Australia. This team has outgrown the need to have one talismanic figure leading the way; they’re a real threat on the world’s stage, and they’re handling themselves like one. 

Now, with two excellent performances behind them and the group won, the challenge heading into the final Group Stage match isn’t necessarily getting three points: It’s maintaining momentum and rallying the group to set up a strong run in the knockouts. That could mean rotating almost the entire roster to give depth pieces a chance to get involved, swapping just a few strategic faces to avoid possible suspensions, or rolling out the same team to really keep the momentum going. None of those decisions are right or wrong, per se. Rather, they each come with upsides and downsides of their own.

Türkiye

Everyone involved with Türkiye soccer is disappointed with their showing at this tournament, and rightfully so. They’ve got some serious talent to draw from, and they’ve proven more than capable of hanging with teams of Paraguay’s and Australia’s calibre in the past. It’s hard to say what exactly went wrong for them this time around, as it’s not as though they were outclassed or really outplayed by much of a margin at all in either of their first two matches. 

Australia’s counter-attacking ability seemingly caught them by surprise in game one. Paraguay’s extremely early strike from distance kind of punched Türkiye in the face, and they never recovered. Their play got increasingly desperate and chaotic as time ticked on, and that played right into the hands of a fiery Paraguay side. Whether it was lack of experience or cohesion, something has kept this team from gelling as well as they should, and now it’s too late to change their fate. 

The Prediction

With Türkiye having nothing left to play for but national pride and the US with much less incentive to win this game than they had for the first two Group Stage matchups, this one is incredibly difficult to predict. It’s hard to even attempt to predict a score when the lineups are so unpredictable. That said, I must do my job and deliver a prediction, so let me cook for a second. 

Türkiye is a proud soccer nation. They will not be willing to lay down and go quietly in this final match. The US won’t want to completely rest their starters, and I expect to see a mix of rotated starters and the maximum amount of substitutions used to get players some strategic minutes. I’m anticipating a motivated, full-strength Türkiye side to come up against a slightly below full-strength USMNT side. 

There’s a world in which the Crescent Stars get the better of the Stars and Stripes, but I can’t see it being a very big margin. My official prediction, though, is a USMNT win, with a lot of depth pieces stepping up to bring the squad to a whole new level of buy-in ahead of what’s shaping up to be an extremely exciting knockout run. You got those fingers crossed? No need. The prediction is out there; the result is in the bag.