Let’s be honest — tonight’s clash between the USMNT and Türkiye at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood is about as high-stakes as a Sunday morning kickabout in the park. The USMNT are already through as Group D winners. Türkiye are already eliminated, having scored exactly zero goals across their two matches. On paper, this is a dead rubber. A nothing game.
Except Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t do nothing games.
The Four Men Who Won’t Play
The Argentine tactician confirmed ahead of Thursday’s fixture that four of his most important players will start on the bench — and likely won’t set foot on the pitch at all. The names are ones USMNT fans know very well: midfielder Tyler Adams, forward Folarin Balogun, and defenders Chris Richards and Antonee “Jedi” Robinson. All four carry yellow cards from the first two group games and one more booking tonight would rule them out of the Round of 32 on July 1.
“We won’t risk them,” Pochettino said plainly. No drama. No mind games. Just cool, calculated management from a coach who’s clearly building towards something bigger.
The logic is airtight. Yellow cards reset after the group stage — but not until the knockout round actually begins. That narrow window between tonight’s game and July 1 is where the danger lives. Sending any of those four out against a Türkiye side with nothing to lose and all the motivation in the world to restore national pride? That would be coaching malpractice.
How the USMNT Got Here
The Americans have been exceptional, and the context makes tonight’s squad rotation even more satisfying. They opened the tournament with a 4-1 demolition of Paraguay — Balogun scoring twice and becoming the first US player to net multiple goals in a World Cup game since 1930. Adams was the metronome in midfield. Robinson was electric down the left. Richards was a wall at the back.
Then came Australia. Without the injured Christian Pulisic — who picked up a calf knock in the Paraguay match — the USMNT barely broke a sweat. A Balogun-assisted own goal and a stunning header from 21-year-old Alex Freeman, son of NFL legend Antonio Freeman, sealed a composed 2-0 win in Seattle. Seven yellow cards were handed out in that physical, chippy contest — three of them to the Americans, inflating the bookings tally that now forces Pochettino’s hand.
The Pulisic Question and Roldan Worry
Pochettino’s rotation headache doesn’t stop at the four booked players. Christian Pulisic, the AC Milan star and the USMNT’s most creative threat, is officially declared fit after three days of training — but whether he starts or appears off the bench remains up in the air. “We need to decide if it’s possible to play from the beginning or have him come on in the second half,” Pochettino said.
More concerning is Cristian Roldan, normally one of the midfield options to replace Adams. He hasn’t trained with the full squad since last weekend due to a quad strain. Pochettino is hopeful he’ll be ready for the knockout round, but tonight seems to come too soon.
The Opportunity Knocks
Not everyone’s unhappy with the rotation, though. For the fringe players — Max Arfsten, Sebastian Berhalter, Alejandro Zendejas, Ricardo Pepi — tonight is an opportunity in neon lights. With a sold-out SoFi Stadium buzzing behind them and a genuine World Cup atmosphere to play in, the understudies get their audition.
Pochettino has already hinted at what’s possible. He pointed to the fact that Spain don’t even use a traditional holding midfielder — suggesting that tonight might be a tactical laboratory as much as a squad rotation exercise.
Türkiye will play with pride. Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız are still dangerous. “When you defend your shirt, your flag, your culture, it’s always about pride,” Pochettino acknowledged.
But the real game — the one that matters — is July 1. And right now, every decision Pochettino makes is pointed squarely at that moment.
