Türkiye 3-2 USA: A Coach's Match Review

FIFA World Cup 2026, Group D — SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, 25 June 2026.

Goals: Trusty 3', Berhalter 49' (USA); Güler 10', Kökçü 31', Ayhan 90+8' (Türkiye).

The headline

With top spot in Group D already secured, the United States rotated heavily and still went toe-to-toe with Türkiye in a five-goal thriller — only to be undone by Kaan Ayhan in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Auston Trusty's third-minute opener made it three games running in which the USA scored first; Türkiye's response, and their refusal to settle for a draw, ultimately won them the game with the last meaningful touch. For a coach, this match is a study in two things: how a changed XI behaves, and how matches are decided in their final seconds.

How the game unfolded

The USA started brightly and led inside three minutes, but Türkiye hit back fast through Arda Güler and edged ahead before the half through Orkun Kökçü. Sebastian Berhalter levelled early in the second half, and with the USA's place already assured the game opened into an end-to-end contest. Both sides chased a winner; Türkiye found it at the death when Ayhan struck in the 98th minute. Berhalter's own post-match assessment — that the USA could have controlled the game better — is the honest verdict of a team that traded blows when it might have managed the tempo.

Selected match stats. Sources: Sky Sports, NBC Sports, NPR.

Coaching lesson: managing a heavily rotated XI

Pochettino made wholesale changes, handing starts to players who had mostly been substitutes. Rotation with qualification secured is sound squad management, but it has a predictable side-effect: a team that has not played together lacks the automatic relationships that produce control. The USA created and conceded in roughly equal measure precisely because the side was newly assembled. The lesson is to pair rotation with extra clarity — simplify the game plan, over-communicate roles, and accept that a changed team will often be more open. If you rotate, decide in advance whether you are chasing a result or building minutes, and brief the players accordingly.

Coaching lesson: game state when you are already through

Once a team has nothing to play for on the table, the psychological framing changes — and that is exactly when discipline slips. The USA had the option to control tempo and see the game out, but instead traded chances in an open contest. Teach players that ‘game state’ is a live variable: when a result is not needed, the professional choice is usually to manage the game, protect bodies, and avoid unnecessary risk. The contrast with Türkiye, who still wanted to win, shows how motivation gaps decide loose end-of-group games.

Coaching lesson: concentration into the last seconds

Ayhan's winner arrived in the 98th minute — the very last play. Conceding in deep stoppage time is among the most avoidable goals in football, because it is almost always a lapse of concentration rather than a tactical failure. Drill your team to treat the final phase as its own discipline: track every runner, defend every set piece as if it is the last action of the game, and value seeing the ball into a safe area over an ambitious final attack. The team that switches off first in stoppage time usually pays for it.

What each coach takes forward

Vincenzo Montella will love the character — Türkiye kept believing and won it with the last kick, a mentality worth bottling. Mauricio Pochettino gets the group win and useful minutes for his fringe players, but also a clear teaching example: the rotated side lacked control, and the soft late goal is the kind of detail a knockout tie punishes far more harshly. Both will value the lessons over the scoreline.

Three things to coach from this game

• Pairing rotation with simplified, over-communicated roles so a changed XI keeps its structure.
• Reading game state — managing tempo and risk when a result is no longer required.
• Maintaining ruthless concentration into deep stoppage time, especially defending the final play.