The United States and Turkey will close out the World Cup group stage this Thursday in a low-stakes match in which the hosts will look to extend their winning streak, while the Ottomans will try to bid farewell to the World Cup with dignity.
Both teams head into the match at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California, with nothing to lose. While the Stars and Stripes secured first place in Group D last Friday, Turkey lost to Paraguay that same day and was eliminated from the tournament.
Pochettino is finalizing his rotation plans ahead of the Round of 16
For the U.S. national team coach, Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, the match presents an opportunity to give his key players a rest and provide playing time in the World Cup to those who don’t usually see much action.
The Argentine still has some key decisions to make.
For example, the number of minutes he plans to give to players such as forward Folarin Balogun, who already has a yellow card.
One more would rule him out of the next game, where he might face a more aggressive team.
Doubts also surround the team’s star player, Christian Pulisic.
He hasn’t played since he had to leave the game in the second half of the opening match against Paraguay due to muscle discomfort.
The U.S. aims to finish the group stage undefeated
For their part, the team with the Crescent and Star are heading into the match with the sole motivation of redeeming themselves after their early elimination.
Defeats against Paraguay and Australia sent the team coached by Italian Vincenzo Montella to the bottom of the standings.
Now, the goal will be to score against the opponent.
This matchup points to a clear victory for the Americans.
If they win, they’ll string together three consecutive victories and establish themselves as a tough team to beat, as they await the announcement of their opponent in the round of 16.
Both teams arrive to the match with nothing to lose
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The United States will face the second-place team from any of these five World Cup groups: B, E, F, I, or J.
A game that will take place on July 1 at the Bay Stadium in San Francisco.
However, the lack of defensive obligations on both sides suggests an open match that will be entertaining for the fans and feature plenty of fast transitions.
Probable Lineups
United States: Matt Freese, Alex Freeman, Weston McKennie, Tim Ream, Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman, Sebastian Berhalter, Timothy Weah, Brenden Aaronson, McKenzie, and Ricardo Pepi.
Head Coach: Mauricio Pochettino.
Turkey: Ugurcan Cakir; Zeki Celik, Merih Demiral, Abdülkerim Bardakci, Ferdi Kadioglu; Hakan Calhanoglu, İsmail Yuksek; Baris Alper Yilmaz, Arda Guler, Kenan Yildiz; Kerem Akturkoglu.
Head Coach: Vincenzo Montella.
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal of Algeria.
Los Angeles Stadium.
Time: 7:00 p.m. local time (2:00 a.m. GMT on Saturday).
With information from EFE
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