International Soccer
Trusty makes history, USMNT fall late against Türkiye
After winning Group D at the FIFA World Cup 2026, a rotated USMNT fought hard but fell late in Los Angeles, conceding at the death to lose 3-2 to Türkiye. Union homegrown Auston Trusty made history with the opening goal, and Sebastian Berhalter levelled the scoring in the second half. Late into stoppage time, Kaan Ayhan scored the winner, giving Türkiye a nice consolation after being eliminated the match prior.
USMNT entered Thursday’s match in unfamiliar territory, having already secured the first-place position in Group D. Given the luxury to rotate players, head coach Mauricio Pochettino used the match as an opportunity to protect players on yellow cards and avoid injuries. Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi were the only starters that remained from the USMNT’s previous match against Australia. This presented an opportunity for Union homegrowns Brenden Aaronson, Mark McKenzie, and Auston Trusty to start a match at the World Cup. It was the first World Cup appearance for McKenzie and the second for Trusty, who appeared as a substitute against Australia. Brenden Aaronson made his first 2026 World Cup appearance after appearing as a substitute in all four matches of the 2022 World Cup. Matt Freese rotated out for Matt Turner.
Auston Trusty scored a historically significant goal in the third minute. A corner kick by Sebastian Berhalter found Media, PA native Trusty at the back post, who took a touch and fired home for his first USMNT goal. Trusty became the first Union homegrown and the first Philadelphia-area native to ever score at the World Cup, a significant achievement for the Union and local soccer as a whole. Trusty was a member of the first group of Union Juniors in 2011, joined the Union Academy when it was founded in 2013, and became the club’s fifth homegrown signing in 2016. The goal came in the third minute, only 134 seconds into the match, becoming the second-earliest USMNT goal at the World Cup on record.
Türkiye rallied back to level the score in the 10 th minute via a goal from Arda Güler. A second Union homegrown appeared to get on the scoresheet minutes later when Mark McKenzie fired home a loose ball before wheeling away in celebration. However, the flag went up for offside, and McKenzie was denied his first World Cup goal.
Türkiye took the lead just after in the 31st minute. Güler did well to find McKennie’s Juventus teammate Kenan Yildiz, who squared a low cross into Orkun Kökcü to tap in. After review, the goal was awarded to Baris Alper Yilmaz, as the ball deflected off Yilmaz on its way in. USMNT entered halftime down 2-1.
USMNT equalized only four minutes into the second half. A long throw from McKenzie was headed out to the edge of the box, where Berhalter struck it confidently into the bottom left corner, cashing in on another dead-ball opportunity to knot the score at 2-2.
Pochettino sent out reinforcements in the second half, sending on Christian Pulisic for Tim Weah. Alex Freeman, Alex Zendejas, and Sergiño Dest followed, providing energy in pursuit of a winning goal.
Despite the effort, it was Türkiye who ended up finding the winner. Late in stoppage time, Kaan Ayhan finished past Turner after chaos in the box, and the final whistle followed. USMNT dropped their last group stage match 3-2, but still advance to the knockout rounds as group winners.
USMNT will return to action in the knockout rounds, expanded to 32 teams for the 2026 edition of the World Cup. USMNT will travel to San Francisco to face Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1 in a win-or-go-home match, looking to earn a bid to the Round of 16.
