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06/25/26 11:19:00
Printable Page
06/25 23:18 CDT Turkey beats US 3-2 with last-gasp goal as Americans look ahead
to World Cup knockout stage
Turkey beats US 3-2 with last-gasp goal as Americans look ahead to World Cup
knockout stage
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) --- Kaan Ayhan scored on the final kick of the match,
and Turkey beat the United States 3-2 Thursday night for its only win of the
World Cup.
Auston Trusty scored in the third minute and Sebastian Berhalter got a tying
goal early in the second half for the Americans, who had already won Group D
with victories over Paraguay and Australia. Coach Mauricio Pochettino's team
will meet Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday.
Pochettino fielded nine new starters for this low-stakes game, but Christian
Pulisic entered in the 58th minute. He hadn't played since the first half of
the Americans' opener due to a calf injury.
Arda Gler and Orkun Kk scored in the first half of a resilient performance
by Turkey, which had already been eliminated after losing its first two matches
despite largely dominating both statistically.
Turkey improbably won in the eighth minute of stoppage time when Can Uzun got
the ball in space on the back post and pushed it past sprawling goalkeeper Matt
Turner to Ayhan, who slid to knock it home.
The game's meaninglessness didn't matter to the raucous sellout crowd that
packed SoFi Stadium. The American team's fan base has been energized by its
strong start to this home World Cup -- and this Los Angeles-area crowd was
still chanting and standing when Berhalter airmailed a long corner to Trusty,
who made the stadium shake when he banged it home inside the back post.
Trusty's goal was the Americans' seventh of the tournament, tying their scoring
record for any World Cup before knockout play even begins. It was also the
173rd goal of this tournament, breaking the record for the most combined goals
scored in a World Cup set in Qatar four years ago --- and doing it in four
fewer matches.
Turkey evened it in the 10th minute with an excellent two-man game from Baris
Alper Yilmaz and Gler, the 21-year-old Real Madrid rising star.
Gler then set up another goal in the 31st minute with a pass that eventually
led to Kk's close-range shot. Turkey scored on both of its shots on net in
the first half.
Berhalter tied it in the 49th minute by running on to a loose ball about 20
yards from the net for a vicious strike.
Pulisic replaced Tim Weah in the 58th minute for his first game action since
the first half of their 4-1 victory over Paraguay nearly two weeks ago.
Pulisic said this week that he is ready to play again after coming out at
halftime with a calf injury in the Americans' home World Cup opener. The AC
Milan midfielder entered the 2-2 game to an enormous roar, and he created a
scoring opportunity just a couple of minutes later with a dynamic run down the
left side.
Pulisic nearly scored again in the 63rd minute, but his quick shot off a nice
pass from Berhalter was knocked off the goalpost by Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan
Cakir, and Brenden Aaronson botched the resulting sitter.
___
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup
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