INGLEWOOD, Calif. — That rarest of things will play out here Thursday: a World Cup match that carries no meaning other than pride.
With the USMNT having already clinched its spot at the top of Group D and a knockout stage pathway that keeps the Americans on the West Coast through the quarterfinals, and with Turkey having been eliminated after two losses that had 86 million collective heads in hands, Thursday’s match has an oddly perfunctory feel to it.
Granted, that does help the country’s collective stress level.
The Post breaks down the matchup between the USMNT and Turkey.
When the USA has the ball
You’ve seen what Mauricio Pochettino’s side wants to do throughout its first two games: Play with the ball, be fluid, be aggressive and use the prodigious attacking talent on the USMNT’s roster.
Turkey, a more offensive team than Paraguay or Australia, will be less willing to play into that. The Turks have played a 4-2-3-1 in both of their first two games, and though they’ve astonishingly failed to score despite 62 total shots, they’ve rarely ever had extended time without the ball.
Australia and Paraguay did, however, both have lots of success counterattacking against the Turks, who looked disorganized after losing the ball in both games.
The main things to watch here, in no particular order, are how Christian Pulisic looks, whether the U.S. can play its preferred style against a more offensive opponent and if any players who get rotated in — Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun and Antonee Robinson are on yellows and none are expected to play — make a case to do so in the round of 32.
When Turkey has the ball
Perhaps more than any other team in the World Cup, Turkey has been less than the sum of its parts.
This team is quite talented. Arda Güler is one of the best young midfielders in the world. Hakan Çalhanoglu and Kenan Yıldız are stars at Inter Milan and Juventus, respectively. In a format where three teams can advance from the group, it’s inexcusable that Turkey has failed to do so.
What’s been so astonishing is the total lack of creativity in attack. Against a 10-man Paraguay for most of the night in their last game, the Turks looked out of ideas. They ran up the shot count, but so many were from long range and had little chance of even reaching the keeper.
one of the best young midfielders in the world. Getty Images
Maybe having already been eliminated will let them play more freely. In any case, the USMNT still has to account for those attacking threats. With Richards and Adams, perhaps the Americans’ two most important defensive players, both on yellow cards and thus unlikely to play, it’ll be interesting to see how the back line holds up.
Intangibles
Exactly how this game will be affected by the fact that it doesn’t matter is the main question here.
The Americans have a chance to keep momentum going, and the expected squad rotations mean that players who haven’t gotten much time on the field will have a chance to make an impression.
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That’ll matter, as will the culture Pochettino has instilled in which every game matters.
As for Turkey, there’s already been a huge public outcry in the country over the team’s failure to qualify. That’s not going to change. Nor will the calls for coach Vincenzo Montella’s job. Still, they’ll want to leave with something positive.
Prediction
The momentum keeps rolling, and so does Turkey’s World Cup-long failure to score. USA 3, Turkey 0.
