USA v Turkey LIVE: Team news and line-ups as Pulisic benched by World Cup co-hosts – UK Times

On numerous instances has the same type of goal flown in during the first two rounds of the group stage. They all relate to rising, driven shots that go above shoulder height, and are often not heading right for the top corner. Goalkeepers are diving across to save these shots and are crucially getting a hand to the ball – but when they make contact, it’s not in the right place and the ball simply passes through, as if they’ve misjudged the flight.

You can point the finger at the keepers’ inadequacies if you like, but those in the know think something greater is at play.

“I’m seeing this goal way too many times for a World Cup for there not to be something up with that football,” former England international goalkeeper Joe Hart said in a piece of passionate half-time analysis during France’s 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday night. “As soon as they’re not using the curling technique, as soon as that ball is not moving, it’s not spinning, the goalkeepers are struggling.”

This will be the fourth time the USA and Turkey have played, but it will be their first competitive encounter.

They previously met twice in pre-World Cup friendlies, with the USA winning 2-1 in May 2010 and then again in early June 2014.

Turkey won their last encounter, though, also a 2-1 victory last June. Turkey were one of the fancied sides before the World Cup but have been disappointing.

Cakir; Celik, Kabak, Bardakci, Elmali; Ozcan, Kokcu; Aydin, Guler, Yildiz; Yilmaz.

USA look to round out their group-stage campaign with a third win from as many games, as the World Cup co-hosts take on the already-eliminated Turkey.

Expectations around USA were measured coming into this tournament, but Mauricio Pochettino’s team have gotten off to a flying start, dismantling Paraguay 4-1 before seeing off Australia 2-0.

Meanwhile, Turkey fell 2-0 to Australia in their opener before losing 1-0 to 10-man Paraguay in their next game.

In the US, the game will air live on Fox and Telemundo. ITV1 and ITVX will show the action in the UK.

It’s been a dream start to the World Cup for the United States. With excitement around the USMNT growing, can they continue their momentum against Turkey in Los Angeles to bolster their emerging status as tournament contenders?

The USA, on paper, have nothing to play for. After wins over Paraguay and Turkey, they are safely through to the knockout stages as winners of Group D. Turkey, too, have no skin in the game. They are already out after two defeats.

But the USA will want to fuel the belief that this could be a special summer, as Mauricio Pochettino’s team returns to the So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles, the scene of their impressive opening victory over Paraguay.

Kick off is at 5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET, which works out to 3am BST.

For the USMNT tonight, some team news decisions are blindingly obvious. Four key players – Folarin Balogun, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams and Chris Richards – are a booking away from being suspended for the last-32. Expect them to watch on from the bench.

“I think it’s an easy answer for the guys that have yellow cards,” Mauricio Pochettino said, at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “I think it’s unnecessary to take a risk and then take another yellow card and be not available for the next stage. I think that is a little bit of a normal and easy answer to not play with them from the beginning.”

Such has been the USA’s dominance in Group D and the questionable tie-break switch from goal-difference to head-to-head top spot is already wrapped up.

Contrastingly, Thursday’s opponents at the Los Angeles Stadium, perennial underachievers Turkey, are guaranteed to finish bottom even if they thrash the US later tonight.

It makes the contest a largely unsatisfying dead rubber, even in an expanded tournament where third-place could be enough for a knockout berth.

But for Mauricio Pochettino, it’s less a dead rubber and more a free hit. While there will be temptation to maintain the status quo and a perfect group-stage record, the US boss is set to rotate his starting XI.

They already know their last-32 match-up will be in Santa Clara next Wednesday against a high-ranked third-place team (which would currently be Bosnia and Herzegovina). Rest and rotation are clearly the priority.

Christian Pulisic said he was feeling positive about his recovery from a ⁠calf injury and hopes to play a role in the United States’ final World Cup group match against Turkey on Thursday, though his availability remains uncertain.

“I’m feeling good,” Pulisic told reporters at the U.S. training camp on Wednesday. “I joined with the team in the last few days, so I’m feeling good, feeling positive, and hopefully I’ll be able to play a part tomorrow.”

The major question revolves around USA star Christian Pulisic, who was substituted at half-time in their opening win over Paraguay before missing the victory against Australia altogether.

“It was impossible for him today to play,” Mauricio Pochettino said, referring to the forward’s hamstring injury. “We hope that next game he will be available, but if we want to win the competition, we need the whole team. All of the players need to be important but of course Christian is one of the best players in the world and I hope that he can recover as soon as possible and can show it on the pitch and help the team.”