The USMNT’s sour World Cup group stage ending should be motivation for the bigger games to come
In the big picture, the result didn’t matter. But it still did in a way, because a last-second goal like that has to matter to the team's psychology as the knockout rounds arrive.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It’s a good thing that the U.S. men’s soccer team’s 3-2 loss to Turkey on Thursday didn’t matter for the standings. Because in many other circumstances, it would have been infuriating, not just annoying.
Had the game finished tied, there would have been very few complaints. Everyone knew coming in that the lineup would have a lot of rotation. An unbeaten run through the group stage would have kept up the good vibes, even with that changed squad giving up two goals.
Instead, giving up a last-kick-of-the-game goal meant the questions that followed were far less positive.
“Having that moment in the last moment where they score, it’s tough,” said Medford’s Brenden Aaronson, whose first World Cup start included four tackles, three defensive recoveries, three shots, 21-of-22 passing, and a first-touch misfire toward an open net in the 62nd minute that overshadowed much of the rest of his night.
“We wanted to walk away with no losses in the group stage, but we’ve got to take it, as it was still a fantastic group stage,” Aaronson said. “We had so many really good performances, and even before the group stage, in the friendlies. We’re at a top level. I’m not worried whatsoever, and we’re going to move on to the next one and be ready to go for Bosnia” in the round of 32.
Other players were more positive, in particular Sebastian Berhalter. He had an assist and a terrific goal in the game, and tried to set a tone by stepping to the microphone first.
» READ MORE: A last-second goal costs the USMNT a 3-2 loss to Turkey in its World Cup group finale
Asked if the final score affects the team’s momentum, he said bluntly, “No, it doesn’t. … I think we gave everything we had, and we’ll be ready for the knockouts.”
Manager Mauricio Pochettino was flat-out defiant, saying “no one congratulated us for finishing first in a very difficult group.”
He repeatedly chided the media, saying at one point: “Your questions are a little bit weird, but I am so happy, and the players are happy, because I think we perform, we compete, and we are first. … Maybe I am confused, but the mood, the vibes [are] like we go home tonight and Turkey stays.”
Tyler Adams, who watched from the bench to avoid getting another yellow card, was asked if it’s better to flush the moment as Berhalter wanted or keep it as motivation heading into the knockout rounds.
» READ MORE: ‘It’s a dream’: Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick is helping the U.S. World Cup team as a practice player
“It’s not going to be perfect,” he said. “No tournament is perfect. You live and you learn. I think a lot of the guys will take lessons from that game. A lot of good performances otherwise.”
A moment later, goalkeeper Matt Turner was asked the same question. His inclusion in the starting lineup was perhaps the most controversial of the nine changes Pochettino made from the Australia game.
“When it’s 2-2 at the end there, that probably would have been the more fair result given the chances both sides had, but this is football, and we know how cruel the game can be,” he said. “We let our guard down, and we got punished for it. We were all in positions to make a play, and none of us could make the decisive play.”
Alejandro Zendejas, who finally got to make his World Cup debut, had a similar opinion.
» READ MORE: ‘Every game, we win’: Ivory Coast earns a World Cup win in Philly, but for fans of Curaçao, it was still a party
“It’s always the worst, especially on the last play of the game, when that happens — when I think we had the game controlled, pretty dominated in my opinion,” he said. “But yeah, it’s a time to take the night or the day to reflect on the game, and then turn the page right away to focus on the next round for sure.”
In the big picture, the result didn’t matter — a rare luxury for a U.S. team that for decades has scrapped for every point it has gained at men’s World Cups. But it still did in a way, because a last-second goal like that has to matter.
And when the Americans, who won Group D, next take the field, on July 1 against Bosnia & Herzegovina in Santa Clara, Calif. (8 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo), the result will be all that matters. Bosnia & Herzegovina finished third in Group B.
“You can always take these things as fuel,” Aaronson said. Many U.S. fans will hope the team does so.
» READ MORE: Can the USMNT really win this World Cup? Probably not, but the players are allowed to believe it.
Auston Trusty’s moment of history
Whatever ends up happening to the U.S. in the knockout rounds, one moment will stay in the history books for a long time. Media native Auston Trusty became the first men’s player born and raised in the Philadelphia region to score a World Cup goal when he slammed in Berhalter’s corner kick service in the third minute.
“I’m a center back usually, playing in a left back spot [in this game],” Trusty said. “I can advance up, I can show different parts of my game going forward. I live and breathe for corners, and then had the opportunity and took advantage of it.”
The only other male player to have lived in the area and scored a World Cup goal was Bart McGhee. He immigrated from Scotland to Philadelphia as a child and scored the program’s first-ever World Cup goal in the inaugural tournament in 1930.
“It means everything,” Trusty said. “I absolutely didn’t know that stat. … I think it’s an honor to score a goal and even participate in this competition, let alone score a goal. So yeah, just a dream come true.”
» READ MORE: ‘Two Delco-heads,’ Matt Freese and Auston Trusty, helped the USMNT make World Cup history against Australia
His celebration was as vibrant as the shot, as he screamed and raised a finger while sprinting away toward the U.S. bench. And back home, a big crowd at Philadelphia’s fan fest on Lemon Hill roared just as loudly.
Coincidentally, Trusty said, the celebration was similar to how he celebrated his first goal for the Union in 2018.
“I don’t know why I did that,” he quipped. “I didn’t plan for that, but pretty cool. It’s kind of full circle.”
» READ MORE: Philadelphia’s World Cup love affair shows just how far we’ve come
Trusty’s night ended on a sour note when he got stepped on by Turkey’s Oğuz Aydın, rolled an ankle, and managed to suffer a hamstring cramp as he hit the ground. He went back in the game (in part because the U.S. was out of substitutions), then slipped amid the chaos of the last goal.
By the time he emerged to the media, he had that ankle wrapped, but otherwise, he didn’t seem any worse for wear.
In this World Cup, underdogs are stealing the spotlight, the U.S. men are on a roll, and Philadelphia has not only welcomed the world but has given visitors a crash course on just how real the curse of the Rocky Statue can be.
Join Jonathan Tannenwald, the Inquirer's soccer writer, and host Lisa Carlin, analyst for CBS Sports Golazo, as they dissect the matches, the moments, and more as Philly has its moment in soccer's brightest spotlight. Watch our latest episode right here.
Watch previous episodes:
Episode 1: The Wait is Over!
Episode 2: Groups, Goals, and Glory
Episode 3: Electric Action in Philly
