Pochettino's Risky Rotation Leads to Late Defeat for U.S. in World Cup

Mauricio Pochettino has spent 18 months ripping up the manual with the U.S. national team. On Thursday night, the risk finally bit back.

A Kaan Ayhan strike deep into stoppage time gave Turkey a 3-2 win, snatching victory with what was effectively their last touch of the World Cup and handing the Americans their first loss of the tournament. The unbeaten run is gone. The top spot in the group is not.

Rotation, Risk, and a Late Gut Punch

With the U.S. already through to the knockout rounds, Pochettino went all-in on rotation. Nine changes. Bench emptied. Fringe players trusted. By the 76th minute, when Alejandro Zendejas came on, the U.S. had used 23 players in this World Cup – a new national record. Every outfield player had seen the field. Every plan for squad depth had been tested.

For a while, it looked like another masterstroke.

Inside three minutes, Auston Trusty, a surprise starter, announced himself with the kind of finish you’d expect from a seasoned No. 9, not a defender making his first World Cup start. Sebastian Berhalter, also in the XI for the first time at this level, whipped in a dangerous corner from the right. Trusty killed it with his first touch, then hammered a left-footed shot from the far edge of the six-yard box, squeezing it between Ugurcan Cakir and the near post.

Second-fastest U.S. goal in World Cup history. One-nil up. Pochettino’s gamble seemed to be paying off again.

Then Turkey punched back.

In the 10th minute, Arda Guler slipped away from Mark McKenzie at the edge of the area, latched onto a pass from Kenan Yildiz, and calmly lifted a left-footed shot over Matt Turner from the penalty spot. It was the first shot Turner had faced in this World Cup. It was also the first time the U.S. had surrendered a lead in the tournament.

The second shot he saw went the same way. Just past the half-hour, Eren Elmali drove a ball across the face of goal, Orkun Kokcu arrived at the edge of the six-yard box and redirected it home. For the first time in this World Cup, the U.S. trailed.

Turkey, already eliminated after two defeats in their first World Cup appearance since 2002, played like a team with nothing left to lose and plenty of frustration to burn. Challenges flew in. Tempers simmered. The game turned chippy early and never really calmed down.

Berhalter Steps Up, Pulisic Returns

The Americans needed a response and got it almost immediately after the break.

Four minutes into the second half, a loose ball spilled out to the top of the box. Berhalter, constantly involved and growing into the night, stayed composed. No panic, no snatch. He let the ball sit up and guided a right-footed shot just inside the near post to make it 2-2, capping a goal-and-assist performance in his first World Cup start.

“The ball just popped out and I knew if I just stayed calm and just made a swing motion, that I had a chance,” he said afterward. A training-ground strike, executed under real pressure.

The momentum shifted again 10 minutes later with the sight U.S. fans had been waiting for: Christian Pulisic stepping onto the pitch.

Nursing a left calf injury, the captain hadn’t played since the first half of the opener. Pochettino finally unleashed him, and Pulisic immediately tore into Turkey’s right flank. Three dangerous surges up the left, three moments that could have flipped the match. None of them finished.

Those misses lingered.

Because as the clock ticked toward the final whistle, with the U.S. seemingly content to take the draw and move on, the game had one more twist.

Ayhan, surrounded by three U.S. defenders in a crowded box, reacted quickest in a late scramble and forced the ball home. Turkey’s only win of the tournament. The U.S. beaten with seconds left. A wild group stage finale, decided in the cruelest way.

Pochettino Stays Defiant

The table still tells a comforting story. The U.S. finish top of the group at 2-1-0, having opened with dominant wins over Paraguay and Australia. The real judgment arrives Wednesday in Santa Clara, where Bosnia and Herzegovina, third from Group B, await in the round of 32.

Pochettino insists the late collapse won’t derail anything.

“The objective was to finish first and we are first,” he said. “Now it is the next stage and it is going to be a final. And we are ready. We are much better than before that game because we had players now with 90 minutes in their legs and performing and really to help if we need from the beginning or after from the bench.

“It’s all positive. And I am so positive and I am happy.”

He has reason to cling to that line. His rotation was extreme, the most changes any American coach has ever made between World Cup matches. But it also gave him a clearer picture of his bench than any of his predecessors ever had.

Berhalter, who walked off with a goal, an assist, and a statement performance, believes the shared minutes will matter when the stakes rise.

“We know everyone’s ready to step up at any moment,” he said. “I think you saw that today. We let some moments get away from us, but I thought the performances overall were good.

“It’s every little kid’s dream across the United States of America to play in a home World Cup, and just in a World Cup in general. People made their debuts today, so congratulations everyone. This is what everybody looks forward to.”

Brenden Aaronson, another of Pochettino’s trusted lieutenants, chose to see the sting of Ayhan’s winner as fuel.

“You can always take these things as fuel, having that moment in the last one where they score,” he said. “It’s tough. We wanted to walk away with no losses in the group stage. But it was still a fantastic group stage.

“Not worried whatsoever. We’re going to move on to the next one and be ready to go for Bosnia.”

Momentum or Mirage?

So what lingers longer: the fresh legs, or the fresh scar?

Pochettino has turned experimentation into a defining trait of this U.S. side. He has challenged his players, questioned their limits, and demanded they believe in a deep World Cup run. On Thursday, his boldness cost him a perfect group stage and invited questions about rhythm, cohesion, and defensive focus in big moments.

The answers arrive on Wednesday in Santa Clara, where there will be no margin for late lapses, no safety net from earlier wins, and no comfort in having “played everyone.”

Rotation time is over. The World Cup starts now.