Key events
Alexander Abnos
The seats are filling in here at Los Angeles Stadium, and it’s definitely a boisterous atmosphere. However, there’s no escaping that the distinct lack of tension. The US are through as group winners, the fans know it, and Pochettino’s lineup indicates as much.
Starting XIs: Nine changes for USA
And yet, there’s no Pulisic. The only holdovers from the Australia game are Weston McKennie, who gets the captain’s armband, and Ricardo Pepi, who deputized for the injured Pulisic.
Turkey make seven changes, noted in italics below.
USA: Turner; Trusty, Robinson, McKenzie, Scally; Reyna, McKennie, Berhalter; Pepi, Aaronson, Weah
Turkey: Çakır; Çelik, Elmali, Bardakcı, Kabak; Özcan, Kökçü; Güler, Yıldız, Alper Yılmaz, Aydin
Topic A: Could the USA really win this?
The USA’s bright start has awakened an unusual feeling in the country of 342 million or so people. Optimism.
It’s not just that they’ve won their first two games. It’s that they’ve done so convincingly while most of the typical tournament favorites have faltered. Spain drew with Cape Verde. England couldn’t break down Ghana.
But France and Argentina have looked quite good as well. So have another host nation, Mexico.
Here’s the funny thing – the USA will likely avoid all those teams for a while.
In the round of 32, they’ll face a team that finished third in their group – at this stage, most likely Bosnia. Win that, and they’ll face either the winner of Group G (likely Egypt, but potentially Iran – yes, Iran) or another third-place team. The most likely quarterfinal matchup would be against Spain – a favorite, yes, but again, the team that drew Cape Verde.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the bracket, Mexico may face England in the round of 16. France will likely need to go through Germany and the Netherlands to get to the semifinals.
The 48-team format has been vindicated somewhat by the minnows’ inspiring performances. But the draw has been quirky, to say the least.
Not the USA will mind if they cruise to the quarterfinals. But that’s not at all guaranteed. As well as this team have played, they could lose to Bosnia. Or Egypt. (Can you imagine Iran?)
Also seeking a spot in the knockout rounds …
… is our referee, Mustapha Ghorbal. He and fellow Algerians Mokrane Gourari and Abbes Akram Zerhouni are the on-field crew.
The UAE contributes fourth official Omar Al Ali and reserve official Mohammed Alhammadi.
Staring into the TV like the family in Poltergeist will be VAR official Antonio Garcia of Uruguay, joined in the room by Mahmoud Ashour (Egypt) and Juan Lara (Chile).
The USA already suffered a setback in the round of 32 sweepstakes today when Tori Penso was involved in two questionable calls in the Ecuador-Germany game. Earlier, she had done a fantastic job with the Czechia-South Africa game. Armando Villarreal was the subject of one of the more colorful officiating critiques of this tournament, with Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz saying the US ref must have gone for coffee instead of recommending a review of a potential foul when England’s Ezri Konzi clattered into Prince Adu in the penalty area.
Ismail Elfath made it to the round of 16 in 2022. He takes the whistle for the second time in this Cup when Uruguay and Spain meet in a game most casual observers have surely circled as one to watch.
Ghorbal is also on his second game. He gave four yellow cards in Scotland’s 1-0 win over Haiti.
Oh, and the other thing to watch: Oh. As in Peter Oh and what witticism he will contribute.
We also must consider the Golden Boot race, in which Own Goal is the runaway leader. I understand Liverpool are now offering 100 million Euros but aren’t sure where to wire the money.
Preamble
Let’s begin with a quick look at what’s at stake …
…
…
OK, now that we’ve finished with that, let’s talk about some things to watch:
1. Is Christian Pulisic actually healthy now? That might not be answered in this game, but a good 45-60 minutes would reassure some fans.
2. Will we see the Great Gio Reyna Breakout Game? The controversies of years past seem far behind.
3. Mauricio Pochettino is expected to make his four players on yellow cards sit out. Those players are arguably the most important four players on the roster – left back Antonee Robinson, center back Chris Richards, midfield cornerstone Tyler Adams and striker Folarin Balogun. Those players will undoubtedly be back in the round of 32, but will anyone step up to claim a spot as the first person off the bench?
4. Will we get an angry Turkey determined to get something out of this Cup, or will we see a team that’s just ready to get to LAX and board the plane out of town?
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a briefing from Graham Ruthven’s daily watch guide on what to know about this Group D matchup:
What to watch for
Few teams have progressed through their opening two matches of this World Cup more comfortably than the USA. On paper, Thursday’s encounter with Turkey looked to be their biggest test when Group D was drawn. With Turkey already out, though, it’s unclear what this match will hold.
Turkey’s early elimination from the tournament was a shock, especially considering Vincenzo Montella’s team are ranked 11th out of 48 sides for expected goals (xG) and 10th for big chances created. They could take out some pent-up anger on the co-hosts in Los Angeles before heading home.
Player to watch: Ricardo Pepi, USA – Pochettino could rotate his lineup for a dead-rubber and start Ricardo Pepi, giving the PSV forward an opportunity to make his mark and prove why he should be ahead of Folarin Balogun in the pecking order.
