World Cup 2026: Turkey beats US 3-2 with last-gasp goal
Turkey's Kaan Ayhan scores their third goal against USA.
PHOTO: Associated Press
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Kaan Ayhan scored on the final kick of the match, and Turkey beat the United States 3-2 Thursday (June 25) night for its only win of the World Cup.
Auston Trusty scored in the third minute and Sebastian Berhalter got a tying goal early in the second half for the Americans, who had already won Group D with victories over Paraguay and Australia. Coach Mauricio Pochettino's team will meet Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday.
Pochettino fielded nine new starters for this low-stakes game, but Christian Pulisic entered in the 58th minute. He hadn't played since the first half of the Americans' opener due to a calf injury.
Arda Güler and Orkun Kökçü scored in the first half of a resilient performance by Turkey, which had already been eliminated.
Turkey won in the eighth minute of stoppage time when Can Uzun got the ball in space on the back post and pushed it past sprawling goalkeeper Matt Turner to Ayhan, who slid to knock it home.
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