The USMNT was feeling themselves after making history in Group D, but they got a major reality check Thursday night in LA. Playing in front of a packed house of 70,492 fans at Los Angeles Stadium, the U.S. let a draw slip right through their fingers, giving up a goal on the very last kick of the game to lose 3-2 to a Turkey squad that had been playing like garbage all tournament. Yeah, we already got our spot locked up in the Round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but you can't be giving away games like this. It’s a bad look heading into the knockout rounds, no cap.

With the top spot in the group already secured, coach Mauricio Pochettino decided to switch up the whole vibe. He benched almost the entire starting lineup, leaving Weston McKennie out there as the only guy who started the wins against Paraguay and Australia. It didn't help that Seattle Sounders captain Cristian Roldan was out all week with a quad injury. Without Roldan’s leadership out there holding down the middle, the midfield looked completely lost and had zero flow.

At first, it looked like the U.S. was going to run away with it again. Sebastian Berhalter whipped in a corner that found Auston Trusty unmarked. Trusty hit a crazy shot from a tough angle to put the U.S. up early. He ran straight to the sideline and gave Pochettino a huge hug, and the whole squad was celebrating. But that early hype didn't last long because the defense started falling apart immediately.

Instead of sticking with the fluid backline that actually got them those first two wins, the coaching staff went back to a flat back four. This is the same exact trash system that got them cooked 5-2 by Belgium back in March, and that they struggled with all through 2025. Why they went back to it is wild, and Turkey didn't waste any time showing why that system is outdated.

In the 10th minute, Real Madrid’s Arda Güler absolutely shredded the U.S. defense. He saw the backline was completely disorganized, used his teammate as a screen, left Mark McKenzie lost, and slipped it past Matt Turner like it was nothing. Just like that, the U.S. defense got exposed, and you could see the lack of chemistry right away.

It got worse in the 31st minute. McKennie got beat on a header in midfield, and Turkey put together a clean passing sequence that left Joe Scally stranded on an island. Eren Elmalı set up Orkun Kökçü for an easy finish to make it 2-1. It was the first time the U.S. had been trailing this whole tournament, and they looked shook.