USA
Matt Turner In a surprise start, Turner was unable to stop the three shots he faced on his net, which will do little for the nearly extinguished case for him to start over Matt Freese. Then again, there were a couple of timely sweeper actions and he is now part of a select group of US goalkeepers to start in multiple World Cups. 4
Joe Scally More of a stay-at-home type than positional alternatives Sergiño Dest and Alex Freeman, Scally struggled to keep up with the game around him on a few occasions. Was pulled out of position twice on Turkey’s second goal, and struggled to place his crosses in dangerous areas. 5
Mark McKenzie Bypassed too easily for Turkey’s first goal, and struggled to hit his targets with long distribution. Had a possible poacher’s finish on a corner ruled offside. Did well to keep funneling the ball into midfield, though full-backs bore a greater responsibility for progression than the central routes. 5
Miles Robinson Looked a bit unready whenever the ball neared his plot in the opening quarter, but settled into the game once his nerves were apparently shaken. Led team in phases lost, per Futi, both by his passing and some indecision on the ball. 5
Auston Trusty Still a bit miscast as a wing-back or full-back, but he was in his element to head home the opening goal from a corner kick. Stood out throughout by helping with passing outlets and did well to track back to limit Turkey’s joy down their right. A downer ending, exiting with an apparent left ankle injury. 7
Sebastian Berhalter Struggled with some of his defensive responsibilities, but few of those will make the highlight reel. His set-piece prowess helped him make this squad, and he rewarded Pochettino’s faith with an assist on Trusty’s opener. His own goal was even better, the latest in his growing catalogue of finishes at the edge of the area. By far his team’s most progressive passer on the day, to boot. 8
Weston McKennie Somebody had to go again with Cristian Roldan injured, and McKennie did his part while donning the armband. Not quite as high activity as he tends to be, but helped keep a spark under his teammates when the game got thorny. Managed a few shots but only one was on target. 7
Gio Reyna Clear how infrequently he plays for longer than half an hour these days. Reyna was moving a lot to offer teammates a passing destination, but opted to recirculate far more often than try breaking lines for his teammates. Nonetheless, the second most box entry passes on his team, trailing Berhalter. 5
Tim Weah Hardly the first time Weah has been shifted to his weaker side under Pochettino, who cites Weah’s “dominant eye” as evidence that he can play inverted off the left. Even most fans’ recessive eyes would have spotted too many errant passes, sloppy touches, and ineffective attempts at dribbles from such a veteran of the team. 5
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Brenden Aaronson A fairly typical shift for the Leeds midfielder. In his first World Cup start, Aaronson was all industry as he tried to stretch the team to its right, but missed connecting on an unobstructed chance at open net. 5
Ricardo Pepi Pepi was consistent in dragging Turkey’s center-backs into deeper parts of the field, but struggled to find touches in the box and saw his only shot fly off-target. Fulham fans will have hoped for better from their alleged $35m man in waiting. 5
Substitutes
Christian Pulisic (Weah, 58) Entered a bit sooner than many expected, but Turkey immediately retreated into their shell as soon as he stepped on. Showed few signs of rust, nearly scoring from beyond the box in the 77th and pushing the ball toward the box whenever it found him. Looks ready. 6; Alex Freeman (Scally, 77) Caught in la-la land on late matchwinner, dragged entirely out of position. 5; Sergiño Dest (Reyna, 76) Pinned Turkey back simply by checking in, but little involvement in a short cameo. 6; Alejandro Zendejas (Aaronson, 76) A long-awaited World Cup debut didn’t give him much to work with, as both teams seemed ready to see out a draw for the final quarter-hour. 6; Malik Tillman (McKennie, 86) If anything, a bit surprising that he didn’t come in sooner for a more balanced split with McKennie. A nice applause upon entering for a budding stateside star. 6
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