U.S. Men’s Soccer Team Aims to Make History Against Turkey

During their June 12 World Cup match in Inglewood, California, Folarin Balogun and Weston McKennie celebrated as Balogun scored the second goal for the U.S. team against Paraguay. The U.S. achieved victories against both Paraguay and Australia, confirming their lead in the group. This guarantees advancement to the knockout round, regardless of the outcome against Turkey on Thursday evening.

The U.S. men’s national soccer team is already assured of a group stage win, making the Thursday game against Turkey non-impactful for their path in the tournament’s knockout round. However, securing a victory would set a new milestone, marking three wins in a single World Cup, which the team has never achieved before. With high aspirations, the players have expressed confidence in maintaining their momentum.

“The group stage is not done yet. We want to end it the right way. We want to end it the way we came into it and continue to build off of the momentum that we’ve been creating,” remarked defender Mark McKenzie.

The game provides an opportunity for the U.S. to rest key players who are carrying yellow cards—Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, and Folarin Balogun—to avoid suspensions in the Round of 32. Additionally, forward Christian Pulisic might return to the field after recovering from a calf injury.

Turkey faced the World Cup amid high expectations, with young talents like Arda Güler and Kenan Yildiz promising a strong performance. Unfortunately, they were eliminated following losses to Paraguay and the U.S., leading to apologies from their players.

“We had high expectations. I know because all of our country was supporting us and thought we will come very far,” Yildiz explained, pledging a commendable effort in the upcoming match.

The previous encounter between the U.S. and Turkey in June 2025 resulted in a 2-1 victory for Turkey. The U.S. team then lacked several key players. Despite the defeat, defender Chris Richards reflected positively, stating the young team put forth a strong effort.

“We had a really young team, but we went out there and put in a good performance. I don’t think the result necessarily reflected how we played,” Richards said. “Whoever’s on the field, I know we’re going to go out there and give 110 percent.”