USMNT player grades for USA loss to Turkey in Group Stage finale

The USMNT finished the 2026 World Cup Group stage with a whimper, losing to Turkey 3-2 at the final whistle. While the USA-Turkey match wasn’t what many fans hoped for, it was a valiant effort for a squad that was almost entirely made up of backup players. That said, not everyone gets a trophy at the World Cup, so with our USMNT player grades, we can’t grade on a curve.

Here are the USA-Turkey player grades for the 11 players who started, the five subs, and USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino.

USMNT starter player grades

GK Matt Turner —  5

The World Cup veteran made a few solid saves, and none of the goals—even the last one—were really his fault. Still, you would like your goalkeeper to make at least one improbable save in a match like this to pull the team out of the fire.

CB Auston Trusty — 6

Trusty got the first goal and played decent defense overall. His injury was unfortunate, especially since he made a case to be the first defender off the bench if the USMNT is down late in any upcoming games.

CB Miles Robinson — 6

Quietly the best defender on the field Thursday night, Robinson made a case to be the first defender off the bench when guarding a tight margin of victory late in a Knockout Stage match.

CB Mark McKenzie — 5

McKenzie’s night was a mixed bag that got better as the game went on. His defense was shaky early, but he made up for it with a throw-in that led to a goal. Overall, an OK night but nothing special.

RWB Joe Scally, 5

Scally played fine defense and made some good overlapping runs. A five is a perfect grade here because he was bang-on average in pretty much every way.

LM Tim Weah — 3

Weah may have been the most disappointing starter in the USA-Turkey tilt. He was constantly offside, and when he wasn’t, he was completely dominated by Turkey’s right back.

CM Sebastian Berhalter — 8

Berhalter showed why he is Poch’s first option off the bench. He controlled the middle of the pitch and had a moment of brilliance with an absolute laser of a goal. He should continue to be the team’s 12th man throughout the World Cup.

AM Weston McKennie (c) — 6

McKennie captained the squad and looked like his usual, competent self out there. The only knock is that, especially early on, he deferred to his less-experienced teammates and may have cost himself a goal.

AM Gio Reyna — 5

Honestly, it’s hard to remember that Reyna was on the pitch Thursday night. He didn’t do anything bad, but also didn’t contribute much at all. It’s now safe to wonder if Aaronson has surpassed him in the offensive sub pecking order.

AM Brenden Aaronson — 6

Dangerous throughout, Aaronson created chances, but also lacked end product. He didn’t have any unlocking passes or dangerous shots on goal. His performance was good, but he’s not a killer just yet, which is what the team needs from this spot.

ST Ricardo Pepi — 4

Real soccer-heads will tell you that Pepi made a lot of good runs to open up space for other players. OK, fine. But as the team’s lone striker, we need more than that, and Pepi did not look dangerous at all. He’s better suited for a two-striker set where those runs do more.

Grading the subs

LM Christian Pulisic (32+ minutes) — 8

Captain America returned and, boy, did he look dangerous. Pulisic created three or four incredible scoring chances in his first few minutes on the field. Sure, you would have loved to see him bury one of those, but he gets a pass for a little rust after missing the last 135 minutes of World Cup 2026 football due to a calf injury.

AM Alejandro Zndejas (13+ minutes) — 5

Zendejas was OK in his small cameo during this game. He didn’t touch the ball a ton, but when he did, there was real burst and dangerous pace, which makes him intriguing moving forward.

RWB Sergino Dest (13+ minutes) — 1

CB Alex Freeman (13+ minutes) — 1

Dest and Freeman get lumped in together here because they both came on, didn’t have the opportunity to do all that much, and then fell asleep, leaving Can Uzun wide open on the far post to set up what would become the game-winning goal. As starters, these two have both been great, so it’s unfortunate they had to come in late in a tough spot. Still, they didn’t deliver in a big way.

AM Malik Tillman (4+ minutes) — N/A

Tillman simply wasn’t on the field long enough to earn a grade for his USA-Turkey performance.

How did the manager do?

Mauricio Pochettino — 9 

Poch’s tactics continue to be the star of this 2026 World Cup show for the USMNT. The formation and flow of the team consistently puts his players in positions to succeed, and that’s what he should get graded on. It’s not his fault if the defense has two momentary collapses or the offense can’t finish the job in the final third.

Hindsight will be 20/20 on this one, but if the USA beats Bosnia Herzegovina in the Round of 32, it will make Pochettino look smart for resting his starting 11 and keep the main guys fresh and healthy for the Knockout Stage.

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