USMNT falls to Turkey at the death in fierce group finale; How did Pulisic look in his return?

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Turkey stunned the United States with a 98th-minute winner and beat the Americans, 3-2, in a World Cup group-stage finale that meant nothing but nonetheless entertained 70,000 fans here at SoFi Stadium.Although the game technically had no stakes — the U.S. had already clinched the top spot in Group D, while Turkey was already eliminated — both teams played with passion and intensity.U.S. coach Maurico Pochettino made nine lineup changes, and handed maiden World Cup starts to seven players. But even those reserves jumped on Turkey. Auston Trusty scored an emphatic goal less than three minutes in.Turkey then took control of the game, and took a 2-1 lead. But the U.S. rallied and pulled even when Sebastian Berhalter struck a few minutes into the second half with a sensational goal from long range.

2-2! SEBASTIAN BERHALTER FINDS THE EQUALIZER FOR THE @USMNT 🇺🇸

He brings the ball all the way back to the center of the pitch pic.twitter.com/QFAKNZbRMj

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 26, 2026Christian Pulisic then entered for his first minutes since a calf injury that kept him out of last week’s Australia match, and came close to finding a winner.But ultimately, it was Turkey who broke the 2-2 tie with the literal last kick of the game from Kaan Ayhan.Despite the loss, though, the U.S. will head into a round-of-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1 in Santa Clara, Calif, with confidence.Our writers on the scene break down the key talking points:Christian Pulisic gets instruction from Mauricio Pochettino before returning to action (Fran Santiago / Getty Images)Pulisic returns — and brings immediate dangerIn the 58th minute, when the ball went out of play, the crowd at SoFi Stadium went wild. Pulisic was standing by the fourth official, awaiting his return to play for the first time since June 12, when he exited the win over Paraguay at halftime with a calf injury.Pulisic didn’t appear to be hampered by any injury or mistrust of his body at all. Within eight minutes, he established himself as a class above what the U.S. had been showing in attack for the first two-thirds of the match. Missing at least a week of training and the Australia match hadn’t dimmed the energy and enterprise he showed in the first half against Paraguay in the least. He had one fortuitous chance get tipped off the post in the 63rd minute, before having a more controlled opening with his left go just wide of the mark in the 77th as he lost his footing.