The United States men's national team will face Türkiye in their final World Cup Group D match at SoFi Stadium on June 26, 2026.
The hosts have already secured the top spot in the group, while the Turkish squad plays for pride following early elimination.
Türkiye suffered consecutive losses against Australia and Paraguay despite recording a tournament-high 62 shots without scoring a single goal.
In contrast, the undefeated USMNT has scored six goals across two dominant performances, with five of those goals arriving in the first half.
Turkish midfielder İsmail Yüksek expressed the squad's disappointment and mental struggles after their elimination. "As you can imagine, we are not very good mentally.
We are very sad because we are eliminated. Despite everything, we prepared very well for this match," Yüksek said.
He added that the team wants to make the nation proud by earning points from the match.
"We will try to fight as much as we can until the last minute. Hopefully, we will be the team that gets points from here."
The Fenerbahçe midfielder emphasized the match is a matter of national pride. "Not every footballer gets to play in the World Cup.
We are a very lucky group.
We wanted to take it as far as we could, but we couldn't, and we saddened our country."
"We will play for our honor and pride," Yüksek concluded.
Türkiye national team manager Vincenzo Montella demanded a strong collective performance and tactical discipline against a physically imposing American side.
"I want to see aggression and spirit on the field today. I want to see us play seriously as if we have to get three points."
"This is an important test for our development journey. We must think as a team, not individually.
The US has serious physical strength and athleticism," Montella said.
Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak defended the squad's efforts while acknowledging inevitable public criticism. "Our children did their best.
They brought us here. But football is a game of results, and when you don't get results, there will be criticism."
Former national team coach Şenol Güneş noted that high expectations often lead to instability when targets are missed.
"When expectations are high and you fail to reach the goal, chaos occurs and you lose your way.
Now is the time to unite, see the facts, and get back up."
