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United States lost 3-2 to Turkey on Thursday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, in the final match of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, but the defeat did not affect their leadership: the host team advanced as the first in the and a goal difference of +4.
The match kicked off with an early goal from Auston Trusty in the third minute, putting the locals ahead 1-0, but Turkey quickly reacted.
Arda Güler, a key player for Real Madrid and Turkey's offensive force during the tournament, equalized in the 10th minute with a goal that energized the visiting team.
Baris Alper Yilmaz completed the comeback in the 31st minute to make it 2-1 and send the Turks into halftime with the lead, even though they had already been out of qualifying options.
In the second half, Sebastian Berhalter equalized for the United States in the 49th minute, bringing excitement back to the match played in front of the home crowd.
The conclusion came in injury time: Kaan Ayhan, who was substituted in the 88th minute, scored the final 3-2 in the 90+8 to secure a proud victory for Turkey in their farewell from the tournament.
The statistics from the : 53% possession, 18 shots —seven on target— and nine corners, compared to the seven shots, two on target, and two corners from the Turks.
Despite that dominance in offensive production, Turkey was more effective in front of goal and capitalized on their key opportunities to take all three points.
Berhalter also received a yellow card in the 19th minute, the only one of the match, while both teams committed 13 fouls each.
The United States reached this match with their qualification already secured after two consecutive victories in the group stage: the resounding 4-1 win against Paraguay on June 12 with a hat-trick from Folarin Balogun and the 2-0 victory over Australia on June 19 at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Turkey, on the other hand, finished the group stage without any options after losing 2-0 to Australia on June 14 and 0-1 to Paraguay on June 19, with a goal from Matías Galarza in the second minute of that match.
Simultaneously with the match in Los Angeles, Paraguay and Australia drew 0-0 at Levi's Stadium, a result that finalized the top spots in the group.
The final table of the Group D of the 2026 World Cup was led by the United States with six points and a +4 goal difference, followed by Australia, in second place with four points and a neutral goal difference, and Paraguay, in third place also with four points and a -2 goal difference.
Turkey concluded its participation in the 2026 World Cup with three points, having a record of one win and two losses, and was eliminated after failing to advance from the group stage.
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