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The US Men’s National Team has done something it hasn’t managed in 16 years: win its World Cup group. And the reward is something even rarer in tournament football. A game that genuinely does not matter.
The USMNT locked up first place in Group D on June 20, collecting six points from their opening matches and watching Turkey get knocked out by Paraguay’s results. Their final group stage match against Turkey on June 25 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, is now a competitive ghost. Neither team has anything to play for in terms of advancement.
Pochettino’s rotation chess match
For coach Mauricio Pochettino, the knockout stage begins July 1, and the calculus shifts entirely from winning to preserving.
Players sitting on yellow cards become the most obvious candidates for rest. Pick up a second yellow in a game that means nothing, and you miss one that means everything. Chris Richards and Tyler Adams are among those who could be held back for exactly this reason.
Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright, two strikers who have been waiting for their moment, now get a chance to play in a World Cup match at SoFi Stadium.
Why winning the group matters more than you think
Finishing first means the US avoids the group winners from other pools in the Round of 32. In a 48-team World Cup format, the bracket path from first place versus second place can be the difference between a quarterfinal run and an early exit against a powerhouse.
The last time the US won its group was at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. That squad, led by Landon Donovan’s iconic last-minute goal against Algeria, advanced to the Round of 16 before falling to Ghana.
The USMNT failed to even qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In 2022, they scraped through the group stage in Qatar but exited in the Round of 16.
The Turkey side of the equation
For the 70,000-plus fans expected at SoFi Stadium, a home World Cup match with zero pressure is about as close to a party atmosphere as international football gets.
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