The Turkey’s national football team caused an upset by defeating, against all odds, the Group D leaders and one of the tournament’s hosts, the US, by 3–2, winning back the support of their fans after losing to Paraguay and bowing out of the competition, thereby demonstrating that this Milli Takım has exited the 2026 World Cup prematurely, without having shown its full potential.
The match, played at a Los Angeles Stadium packed with fans and flags from both countries, got off to the worst possible start for the Turkish side, who had nothing left to play for and were widely tipped as clear underdogs in the fixture. The United States took the lead very early on thanks to a goal from Auston Trusty, who fired home from the edge of the six-yard box following a corner in the third minute.
However, the response was immediate. Arda Güler levelled the score just seven minutes later, finishing off a swift counter-attack one-on-one with Barış Alper Yılmaz, who laid the ball off to the Real Madrid midfielder in the box to beat Matt Turner and make it 1–1.
Turkey were feeling confident and – in this match at least – managed to impose their style on the pitch, translating that partial dominance – in a match that was, in any case, fairly evenly matched – into goal-scoring opportunities; Arda himself, after the first goal, didn’t want to waste time on celebrations: grabbing the ball to restart play as soon as possible, he shouted to his teammates, “Come on, come on!”, aware that they owed their fans much more than just a draw.
A thrilling and very evenly matched match
And so it was that, in the 31st minute of play, and two minutes after the referee had disallowed a goal for the Americans scored by Mark McKenzie for offside, Barış Alper Yılmaz popped up to finish from close range and, with Turner completely caught out, put the Turks ahead.
But the match was far from decided. Right at the start of the second half, the United States levelled the score again when Sebastian Berhalter spotted an opportunity from a rebound and, right on the edge of the box, fired off a powerful shot that proved unstoppable for the Turkish goalkeeper, Uğurcan Çakır.
Both teams were desperately seeking a goal as the minutes ticked by. In the 62nd minute, a diving save by Çakır allowed him to palm the ball away, only for it to hit the post; and barely 10 minutes later, a superb curling shot from Kenan Yıldız grazed the post of the opposition’s goal.
Turkey’s winning goal came in the dying seconds
Just as the match seemed destined to end in a draw, and with the 90 minutes of regular time up, the Algerian international referee Mustapha Ghorbal added 7 minutes to the match; during those 7 minutes, nothing of note happened… Until, in what was to be the final move of the match, with the 7 minutes already up, the referee allowed a few more seconds for Türkiye to take a throw-in practically right next to the corner flag.
Arda Güler managed to control the ball with a brilliant piece of individual play and shake off the defence, and the ball ended up at the feet of Salih Özcan, who crossed it into the six-yard box: there, Can Uzun was waiting, who controlled it with his chest and attempted a shot without success; but Kaan Ayhan quickly arrived at the ball, catching the US goalkeeper completely off balance and scoring the decisive 3–2.
A spectacular finish to a match, ending in an early exit
It was a spectacular finish to the match, the sort we’ve come to expect – for better or worse – from Turkey, who demonstrated in this fixture their fighting spirit and their hunger to win. After the final whistle, the players’ faces said it all: there were mixed feelings following a victory laden with symbolic significance which nevertheless left a bitter aftertaste, and which showed that the Turkish team – which had returned to the World Cup after 24 years – could have achieved much more, yet were leaving prematurely.
Montella – who had come under heavy criticism following defeats to Australia and Paraguay, but whom the Turkish Football Federation has confirmed will remain in the job – could only try to encourage and console his players: they had done their bit, and were leaving with their heads held high.
Turkey exits the 2026 World Cup having put in one of its most convincing performances and leaving a very positive impression against one of the tournament’s host nations. A farewell performance that has also received widespread international coverage, with many media outlets highlighting the Turkish side’s resilience and the pivotal role played by Arda Güler. For its part, the Turkish press speaks of a national team that has bid farewell to the World Cup “with honour” after convincingly defeating the USA in a thrilling match, full of excitement right up to the end.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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