Turkey 3-2 USA: Turkey's stoppage-time stunner blows Group D wide open
If you only glanced at the group table before Friday morning, you missed the upset that reshaped it. Turkey, pointless and staring at an early exit, dug out a stoppage-time winner to stun a USA side that had looked comfortable. A 3-2 thriller swung three times, and the co-hosts' grip on Group D suddenly feels a lot less certain.
Final score: Turkey 3-2 USA — kick-off was Friday 26 June 2026, 10:00 AM Singapore time at Los Angeles (Inglewood).
The storylines
This was the result that keeps Turkey's tournament breathing. Beaten by Australia and edged by Paraguay, they arrived in Inglewood with nothing on the board and everything to prove. Falling behind inside three minutes could have broken them; instead it lit a fire. Kaan Ayhan's 97th-minute strike, the very last act of the night, turned a desperate campaign into a live one and handed the USA their first defeat of the group, a swing nobody scripted before kickoff.
For the United States, this stings precisely because they led and lost it. Auston Trusty's early header set the tone, and Sebastian Berhalter's second-half equaliser looked like the platform for a routine evening. Then the substitutions kept coming without a winning goal, and Turkey's late surge punished a team that stopped pushing. Top of Group D on six points, the co-hosts will still fancy qualification, but the manner of this collapse is the kind that lingers in a dressing room.
Tactically, the story was Turkey's belief that the game was never gone. Two goals down would have been fatal; one goal down at the break kept them within range, and Berhalter's leveller refused to deflate them. Arda Guler's quick response and Orkun Kökçü's strike showed a side capable of trading blows with a deeper squad. When Can Uzun teed up Ayhan at the death, it crowned a comeback built on persistence rather than panic, and reopened a group everyone had begun to write.
The tactical battle
The USA controlled the early rhythm and struck first, but Turkey's willingness to play through the lines kept dragging them back into it. The American bench reshuffled aggressively after the hour, four changes inside twenty minutes, yet the substitutions disrupted their own momentum more than Turkey's. As legs tired, Turkey's fresh attackers found space behind a stretched back line, and the Uzun-to-Ayhan combination in stoppage time exploited exactly the gaps those late rotations left open.
Players to watch
- Kaan Ayhan (Turkey) — A defender who delivered the stoppage-time winner that rescued Turkey's entire campaign.
- Sebastian Berhalter (USA) — Assisted the opener and scored the leveller, the USA's chief creative threat all night.
- Orkun Kökçü (Turkey) — His first-half strike dragged Turkey ahead and set up a chaotic, swinging contest.
What's at stake
Everything tightens now. The USA stay top of Group D on six points but have handed their rivals a route back. Turkey, finally off the mark, are alive again with a final round to play. Australia and Paraguay sit poised on three points apiece, meaning the closing matchday could send any combination through. One result has turned a settled group into an open scramble.
Key moments
- Auston Trusty heads the USA in front inside three minutes
- Arda Güler levels for Turkey on eleven minutes
- Orkun Kökçü puts Turkey ahead before the half-hour
- Sebastian Berhalter restores parity just after the break
- Kaan Ayhan wins it for Turkey in the 97th minute
FAQ
What time is Turkey vs USA in Singapore? Friday 26 June 2026, 10:00 AM Singapore time (SGT).
Where is Turkey vs USA being played? At Los Angeles (Inglewood).
What is the head-to-head record between Turkey and USA? Both sides came in scratchy from their group openers, but Turkey's appetite to keep attacking proved the difference against a USA team that had looked the steadier of the two.