Pre-match: USA v Turkiye 6/25 10 pm ET

I've looked at the Annex. It looks like the WC Regulations of which the Annex is a part were published on May 8th of this year. So, perhaps the Annex was based on some of the relative rankings of the groups, but certainly not on the current tournament performance. So any 'logic' applied by FIFA (would any of ascribe FIFA to the word 'logic'?) is clouded in mystery.

 

I wouldn’t let Adams even leave his hotel room.

 

Roldon and Berhalter absolutely dog walk Turkeys midfield…earn multi million dollar transfers to Fenerbache and Bestiktas at the end of the cup.

Bunch of people here switch from they suck to “look how much they’ve improved”

 

I get both sides of the argument--but I think we all agree the guys on yellows absolutely have to sit, which means we're down Richards/Adams/Jedi/Balogun, and then Pulisic is hurt and we'll hopefully be able to get some rehab minutes out of him regardless of how we approach the game otherwise but he's extremely unlikely to start.

So, given we're already down those 5 players (and Freeman will need a more thorough head exam too), do we risk a wounded animal Turkey team with zero reason to care about suspensions lashing out at the regulars we do have available (particularly concerned about Dest getting this treatment)? And let's be real, the fact that it's Turkey given what's going on in the world at the moment makes me even more concerned about that.

 

Two good things about this third group stage match.

• A chance to rest the main horses and reset card
• A chance to get a look at depth at any position in a World Cup match with zero stakes

Two bad things about this match

• The result doesn't matter for the tournament progression for either team so no real stakes
• Momentum and storylines really do matter and any loss for even a heavily rotated squad will definitely affect some of the goodwill generated by the wins.

Everyone should be prepared for a bad look because heavy rotation and an angry Turkiye. We should also be hopeful that we win anyway regardless of who is out there because depth wins world cups. Those who know ball will understand the whys. Casuals and haters will only see the potential loss and momentum shift after a totally successful group stage. The real narrative is we nailed the group stage and probably couldn't have done it any better. Six points from the first two games and a +5 GD has to be our best performance ever in the groups.

 

I see some logic in how the schedule is arranged.

The final day of the group phase of the tournament occurs on June 27, while the Round of 32 begins with one match on June 28, three matches on June 29, and three matches on June 30. The Round of 32 is arranged so that no team in Group J, Group K, or Group L plays prior to July 1.

Additionally, the teams in Group G, Group H, or Group I who advance (final group match on June 26) will not play prior to June 30.

 

I lean towards Freese plus ten new guys.

I’m pretty sure Poch will roll with his starters, which on balance I wouldn’t do but I get it.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Poch will sit all the guys with cards. He just strikes me as unlikely to think that matters enough.

 

I know the WC is going to start ramping up a bit here with less off days but I still think 5 full days should be enough to play our usual eleven minus the guys on yellows.

I would imagine Turkiye will be pretty desperate for a good performance, but I do not think of them as a physical, borderline dirty, team Paraguay and Australia are.

I do not really care as much about who comes in for the guys on yellows, but I think Roldan needs to be the Adams replacement.

 

They definitely weren't physical last night but they did play with an edge. These are still high-level, prideful players. If they get frustrated and outclassed again, as they probably should after last night's game, they could easily start playing a bit reckless

 

The difference being that Cameroon was still alive to advance, they just didn't get the help they needed from Serbia.

Turkiye is already toast.

(There's a food joke in there somewhere, but I leave that to those more clever than I)

 

Where Paraguay will have to be the protagonist as a tie does nothing for them. Which I think plays in Australia’s hands. As finishing second definitely leads to an easier round of 32 matchup most likely.

 

There's 4 of the regular starters I could see getting a run out with the otherwise bench lineup vs Turkey:

Freese
Ream
Malik
Wes

Probably in something like that in terms of likelihood - I'm not sure how much they see the old man needing more rest, given how much time there is & has been between games.

I highly highly doubt we'd get all of them, but I wouldn't be too surprised to see Freese + one of the other three.

I don't want to see any of the card guys or the injured guys. And I'd like to give our crazy wide players a breather since unlike DM we actually have reasonable back ups.

 

Yeah, they'll probably just spend 90 minutes rolling around on the ground, fishing for fouls instead.

 

I feel Ream should be rested but I could see him starting still. Would wanna see Scally or Arfsten getting a start but maybe Freeman is seen as too good to sit. I'd want Wes starting though

 

The guys that absolutely need to not play are Adams, Jedi, Balogun, and Richards.

I’d be good with more rotation, but those 4 should absolutely not see the field.

 

A couple things - agree with the first part, but we really need to know who the opponent is to do that well. Yes there are basics we can clean up and learning to take away from our play, but there are limits. Our talent isn’t quite as dominant as Wooden’s was.

I do believe though that our coaching staff has done exactly that with our team. How we surprised Paraguay, used Pepi to replace Pulisic and overall have the team operating together are coaching/preparation wins.

For this game though, cards and injuries matter quite a bit relative to our future success. So we need to consider those more than usual.

 

Listened to Bruce Arena, Bob Bradley, and Gregg Berhalter this morning, and Bruce and Gregg both said they would go with their best starting XI, minus the 4 guys on cards, and anyone with serious injury or fatigue issues. (Gregg thought that might be a concern with Ream's age, but Bruce felt like there was enough time between games for him to recover, though the folks on the inside will know better.)

They were worried players would lose rhythm and momentum if they go nearly 2 weeks without a game, and also felt like a win in the last game would be valuable for the team mentality heading into the knockout stages.

One other thing they mentioned. Gregg noted the team hasn't really had a defined mid-block shape over the past two games, and Bruce said that's because the opposition so far has been so poor (or uninterested in) playing through the midfield, that we haven't needed one. But they don't think that will be the case for teams in the knockout stages, and they also think Turkey (being at least the second most talented team in this group) is the only team in the group that can play through the midfield and test the US's ability to deal with that type of a threat in a mid-block, so it might be valuable to give players you intend to start in the knockout stages experience dealing with that now.

In terms of who would replace the guys on cards, it was assumed Pepi would come in for Balogun, we have multiple CB options to replace Richards, and Arfsten could come in for Jedi. For Adams though they didn't think there was any single player on the roster that could give you a like-for-like replacement, so a couple of them suggested Berhalter and Roldan in a double-pivot to replace what Adams would give you. (Though IMO that would be slightly at odds with what they were saying about testing the shape they intend to use in the knockout stages to deal with teams that are able to play through the midfield.)

 

I hope we're wrong about how prideful this opponent is and they just pout and roll over now that they're out. Would be nice to get 9 points without risking our best players and keep the fan momentum going.

 

I kind of feel this way, but I also don’t want to see our guys get injured, especially if Turkey decides to take out their frustrations by playing dirty. Pulisic is a frequent target. I’d like to see him start the game on the bench, and maybe let him get 30-45 minutes in the second half depending on the tone of the game. Guys like Mckennie and Tillman you could maybe start and let play 45-60 minutes to stay sharp and fit.

 

Some interesting takes in this thread.

I’ll add to them
1. Pepi’s movement, both occupying the central defenders and keeping them unbalanced was important. As was his pressing. If Balo’s pass isn’t misdirected in as an own goal Pepi’s on the scoresheet and everyone here is singing a different tune.

2. Rotation and card/injury concerns are important, but with the amount of time between these matches why completely screw with the chemistry and momentum this team is building? Rotate some from the start, sub earlier, but don’t throw this match away.

3. All of the “Pulisic was terrible the last 6 months” talk. Yes, he didn’t get on the scoresheet enough — and by the way if a couple of calls go the other way he had scored at least two perfectly good goals in early ‘26 — But its pretty evident if you watched the matches it was far more of a Milan vs. Pulisic thing. I think the send off matches and Paraguay match confirm that. All that to say - if he’s passed a fitness test give him some minutes.

Lastly, I’m so glad we’re past Australia. That fan base is exhausting and, while we too have a ways to go as a program, are really over the top with regards to what that team is versus what it is definitely not.

 

A draw would put Paraguay through, they'd be in 3rd with 4 points. A loss on the other hand would almost certainly knock them out. As for Australia, they finish 2nd with either a win or draw but a loss would leave them on 3 points, at best -1 GD and on razor thin ice sweating the results from other groups. (The Athletic did an article a week or 2 ago modeling what you need to advance as a 3rd place team, IIRC they found the cutoff to be >50% to advance was 3/-1)

I think that game could end up being an absolute snoozer, Australia is 100% fine with a draw and it just depends on whether Paraguay wants to risk pushing for the runner up spot. My guess is both teams will be fine with a friendly kick around.

 

Pochettino is always late with his subs, at least relative to most coaches. It was a constant refrain with his clubs' supporters, even when he was liked there.

 

I go with the starters minus the yellows and any injuries.

I don't think a full rotation is that helpful -- start the six guys who right now seem healthy and not on a yellow, and you have five subs for those outfield players if needed (Freese is the sixth).

And honestly, the team will be pretty well put together as we do have some depth in some places. I'd adjust the gameplan a bit to protect some of the guys, but we have some good depth.