Turkey beat United States 3-2 with last-gasp winner at FIFA World Cup
Kaan Ayhan scored with the final kick of the match as Turkey defeated the United States 3-2 in their final Group D fixture. Despite the defeat, the Americans finished top of the group and advanced to the FIFA World Cup knockout stage
Inglewood, (California): Kaan Ayhan scored with the final kick of the match as Turkey beat the United States 3-2 on Thursday night for its only win of the World Cup.
Auston Trusty scored in the third minute and Sebastian Berhalter equalised 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 had not played since the first half of the Americans’ opener due to a calf injury.
Arda Guler and Orkun Kokcu 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 sealed an improbable win in the eighth minute of stoppage time when Can Uzun got the ball in space at the back post and pushed it past sprawling goalkeeper Matt Turner to Ayhan, who slid in to knock it home.
The game’s lack of significance did not matter to the raucous sell-out crowd that packed SoFi Stadium. The American team’s fan base has been energised by its strong start to this home World Cup, and the Los Angeles-area crowd was still chanting and standing when Berhalter floated 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 had even begun. It was also the 173rd goal of this tournament, breaking the record for the most combined goals scored at a World Cup set in Qatar four years ago, and doing so in four fewer matches.
Turkey equalised in the 10th minute with an excellent move involving Baris Alper Yilmaz and Guler, the 21-year-old Real Madrid rising star.
Guler then set up another goal in the 31st minute with a pass that eventually led to Kokcu’s close-range strike. Turkey scored with both of its shots on target in the first half.
Berhalter equalised in the 49th minute by running on to a loose ball about 20 yards from goal and unleashing a powerful strike.
Pulisic replaced Tim Weah in the 58th minute for his first game action since the first half of the Americans’ 4-1 victory over Paraguay nearly two weeks earlier.
Pulisic said this week that he was ready to play again after coming off at half-time with a calf injury in the Americans’ home World Cup opener. The AC Milan midfielder entered the match to an enormous roar and created a scoring opportunity just a couple of minutes later with a dynamic run down the left flank.
Pulisic nearly scored in the 63rd minute, but his quick shot from a fine pass by Berhalter was tipped onto the goalpost by Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir, and Brenden Aaronson missed the resulting sitter.
