The United States and Turkey are set to meet in a Group D showdown that will close out their World Cup qualifying campaign, with the Americans already assured of a place in the round of 32 as group winners and the Turks unable to advance beyond the group stage.
A sweeping reshuffle on both sides
Coach Gregg Berhalter has opted to make nine alterations to the side that faced Australia, retaining only Ricardo Pepi and Weston McKennie from the previous starting eleven. In goal, Matt Turner steps in for Matt Freese, while a host of other names — including Christian Pulisic, who will start on the bench — are given a rest. Across the pitch, Auston Trusty, Miles Robinson, Mark McKenzie, Joe Scally, Giovanni Reyna, Sebastian Berhalter, Brenden Aaronson, Timothy Weah and others will feature in a markedly different lineup.
Turkey, meanwhile, also implements seven changes, with goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir taking over from an earlier starter and a fresh back line comprising Zeki Celik, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Ozan Kabak, Arda Guler, Salih Ozcan, Orkun Kokcu, Kenan Yildiz, Baris Alper Yilmaz and Oguz Aydin. The tactical experiment aims to fine‑tune roles before the knockout phase, even though the outcome will not affect their group standing.