Pre-match information
Coach Mauricio Pochettino's US team entered the final match of Group D of the 2026 World Cup with great confidence as they had already won the top spot in the group and secured a place in the round of 32.
On the other side, Turkey has officially run out of chances to advance after two consecutive defeats against Australia (0-2) and Paraguay (0-1).
In the match against Paraguay, coach Vincenzo Montella's team soon received a cold shower when Matias Galarza scored after only 64 seconds. This is not only the fastest goal of the 2026 World Cup, but also the earliest goal in a World Cup since Mathias Jorgensen scored after 55 seconds for Denmark against Croatia in 2018.
Despite playing with one more player from the end of the first half after Miguel Almiron's red card, Turkey still could not find an equalizer. They launched up to 32 shots - the most in a match at the 2026 World Cup - but still went empty-handed.
Notably, Turkey is currently experiencing a streak of 66 consecutive shots without scoring at the World Cup (62 shots in 2026 and 4 shots in 2002), the second longest goalless streak in the history of the tournament.
Turkey's deadlock is even more evident when they controlled the ball up to 78.6% against Paraguay - the sixth highest rate in World Cup history. Meanwhile, Abdulkerim Bardakci made 98 passes, the most for a Turkish player in a World Cup match since 1966.
Meanwhile, the US is one of the most impressive teams in the tournament. After a 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the opening match, they continued to defeat Australia 2-0 to soon win the top spot in Group D.
Pochettino's team has scored 6 goals in 2 matches, the third best record of the US in a World Cup, only after tournaments in 1930 (7 goals) and 2002 (7 goals). Notably, 5 out of 6 goals were scored in the first half.
The victory over Australia helps the US advance to the round of 32 with the top spot in Group D, where they will meet Algeria, Austria or one of the third-placed teams in Groups B, E, F and I.
