Turkey vs USA: Stars and Stripes to Follow El Tri’s Lead?

by Bradley Gibbs

image Turkey vs USA: Stars and Stripes to Follow El Tri’s Lead?
On Friday evening, the USMNT has the chance to match fellow tournament hosts Mexico and fly into the knockouts off the back of three group wins.

No stopping Pochettino’s men 

Having seen the US run riot against the Paraguayans during the first round of group games, the Aussies went to Seattle with defense in mind. Right from the word go, the Socceroos adopted what was supposed to be a low block, though it was quickly evident that there would be little blocking Pochettino’s men, who for the second game on the spin, were speedily away from the gates, scoring after just seven minutes through a Cameron Burgess own goal, before doubling their lead and putting the game to bed on 43 minutes, courtesy of Alex Freeman, who pounced on a deflected shot, poking home from close range. 

Next up for the USMNT is a game against the Turks. Ahead of Friday’s game in California , check out our Turkey vs USA pick. Can the Stars and Stripes do what the Mexicans have already done and sail through to the knockouts having bagged maximum points? 

Hello America, it’s Bosnia calling

There’s still one group game to go for the US, but their knockout fate is already decided. Regardless of what happens against Turkey, the Stars and Stripes will be heading to the next stage as Group D winners, and that means that they’ll likely be taking on the third-place finisher from Group B. That third-place finisher is Bosnia & Herzegovina. 

On paper, a Round-of-32 tie against the Bosnians is about as good as it could ever have been for the US. They won’t encounter a team that will roll over, though if they can continue to play high-intensity soccer and replicate the general level of performances that they've shown since the tournament began, then there’s no reason why the path to the Round-of-16 will be blocked. 

More of the same or time to mix it up? 

Ahead of Friday’s game against the Turks, USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino has some interesting decisions to make. As the US are facing a team that has already been eliminated from the competition, and with their qualification to the knockouts as group winners already guaranteed, this is not a game that the Stars and Stripes need to win. However, they won’t want to lose momentum, which means that Pochettino may not field a hugely weakened team. 

On the other hand, this game could be seen as a chance for Pochettino to shake things up by resting key players, giving those who’ve not yet played (or played much) an opportunity to prove that they’ve got something to offer as the competition progresses. 

Naturally, after going off at half time during the first game, and not playing the second, Christian Pulisic is not expected to feature here, at least not from the start, with Pochettino likely to adopt a cautious approach, using all the time available to get the star man fit and ready for the knockouts. Folarin Balogun will be looking at this game to sharpen his goal-scoring tools, though he’s another player who may be rested with trickier assignments in mind. 

Realistically, it will be surprising if Pochettino doesn’t make a few changes ahead of the Turkey game, so let’s look at those players who could come into the starting XI for the first time at this World Cup: 

  • Sebastian Berhalter

  • Joe Scally

  • Auston Trusty

  • Gio Reyna

  • Haji Wright

  • Brenden Aaronsen

  • Max Arfsten

  • Timothy Weah

  • Mark McKenzie

Only some of the above players have featured off the bench in the first two games. Those are Sebastian Berhalter, Timothy Weah, Gio Reyna, Auston Trusty and Haji Wright. The rest are yet to enter the field. Now is the time to give them a chance, and doing so would allow the Stars and Stripes to have not just the key men but also the back-up players finely tuned ahead of what could be a rocky road in the knockouts.