LOS ANGELES — Football has a way of writing stories that no novelist would dare invent. Turkey came to the 2026 World Cup with a golden generation, a €470 million squad, and dreams of a deep run. They leave with one victory — a 3-2 thriller against the United States — and the bitter knowledge that it came three days too late.
Kaan Ayhan’s 98th-minute winner sent the Turkish bench into delirium and the Los Angeles crowd into stunned silence. But when the celebrations subsided, the reality remained: Turkey were still going home. The USA, despite the defeat, were still group winners.
The Rise of Arda Güler
If there is one positive Turkey can take from this tournament, it is the emergence of Arda Güler as a genuine World Cup star. The 21-year-old Real Madrid playmaker was at the heart of everything good about Turkey’s performance against the USA.
His equaliser in the 10th minute — a clinical finish from Baris Yilmaz’s pass — was Turkey’s first goal of the tournament after 62 fruitless shots. It also made him Turkey’s youngest-ever World Cup goalscorer, surpassing Emre Belözoğlu.
He was involved in the second goal too, orchestrating the move that led to Orkun Kökçü’s close-range finish. On a night when Turkey finally showed what they were capable of, Güler was the conductor.
The question that will haunt Turkish football: why couldn’t they do this against Paraguay and Australia?
The 62-Shot Tragedy
The numbers are almost impossible to believe. In their first two matches, Turkey took 62 shots — 12 of them on target — and scored zero goals. That is the most shots without a goal across any two-match span in World Cup history.
This was not a team that couldn’t create chances. This was a team that couldn’t finish them. Hakan Çalhanoğlu, one of Europe’s finest midfielders, was anonymous. Kenan Yıldız, the Juventus prodigy, looked overwhelmed by the occasion. The forwards snatched at chances, the midfielders overhit passes, and the entire team seemed to freeze when it mattered most.
Against a heavily rotated USA side — Pochettino made nine changes — Turkey finally found their rhythm. But by then, the damage was done.
Pulisic Returns
For the USA, the result was secondary. The real story was the return of Christian Pulisic.
The AC Milan forward had missed the Australia match with a calf injury and was limited to 45 minutes against Paraguay. Against Turkey, he came on in the 58th minute and immediately looked like the best player on the pitch.
Within six minutes, he had forced Uğurcan Çakır into a diving save that pushed his curling effort onto the post. Minutes later, he controlled a pass on his chest, burst into the box, and was denied again. He played 30 minutes and took three shots. He looked sharp, hungry, and ready.
The USA face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32. A fully fit Pulisic changes everything.
Group D Final Standings
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 9 |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 4 |
| 4 | Turkey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
The Cruelest Victory
Turkey’s players celebrated Ayhan’s winner like they had won the World Cup. In a way, they had — they had won back their pride. But as they walked off the pitch at SoFi Stadium, the scoreboard told a story they couldn’t escape: Group D, fourth place, eliminated.
This was the cruelest victory in World Cup history. A reminder that in football, timing is everything — and sometimes, the most beautiful moments arrive when it’s already too late.
Sources: Sky Sports, NPR, FIFA, Xinhua
