This wasn’t the way the US men’s soccer team wanted to go into the World Cup knockout round
The result didn’t matter, of course. The US men’s soccer team already had won its preliminary group and clinched a place in the second round of the World Cup. Turkey had been eliminated after dropping its first two matches.
That said, losing in the 98th minute on Thursday night in Los Angeles to an opponent playing only for pride wasn’t the way the Americans wanted to go into the knockout round and Wednesday’s encounter with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After beating Paraguay and Australia, the US had gained unprecedented momentum on the global stage. Losing 3-2 to the Turks, who hadn’t scored in the tournament and were bracing for an angry homecoming reception, abruptly drained the steam from the star-spangled calliope.
It was the first time since 1950 that the Yanks had lost a Cup match after scoring first and it was a cautionary preview of what’s in store for them. Their road forward goes through Europe, which has been a graveyard for them in decades past.
Since the US returned to this quadrennial festival of feet in 1990, it has played teams from the continent 21 times. It has won once, beating Portugal 3-2 in the 2002 group opener.
It’s possible that the Americans’ next three matches will be against European sides, each more difficult than the last. Bosnia and Herzegovina, which bested four-time champion Italy in a playoff to qualify, drew with Canada in Toronto and led with a dozen minutes to play.
If Belgium wins Group G on Friday night, the Red Devils, who torched the Americans 5-2 in a March tuneup in Atlanta, could face them in the round of 16. After that looms Spain, the reigning European champions and 2010 Cup victors.
For all the “Why Not Us?” effervescence emanating from their fellow citizens, the Americans would do well to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. That was the program’s high-water mark in the modern era, when the US blanked Mexico before going out to Germany.
Since then the Americans haven’t won a knockout game. In fact, they’ve won only one since the inaugural tournament in 1930.
While this US edition is demonstrably more talented than its predecessors it has yet to face a top contender. Although Group D was the best-balanced in the tournament with all four teams among the top 41 in the global rankings, it includes no teams in the top 15.
Until now the Americans always had to face a heavyweight in the prelims. In 1990 it was Italy in Rome. In 1998 it was Germany in the opener, in 2002 Portugal, in 2006 the Italians again. In 2010 the US began with England.
In 2014 the Americans were thrown in with Ghana, Portugal and Germany in the Group of Death yet still managed to emerge.
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Advancement was easier this time because neither Paraguay nor Australia has the world-class forwards who can mount a sophisticated and dangerous attack. Turkey does.
The Crescent-Stars might have been shut out twice but they’d still taken 62 shots, the most without scoring a goal in consecutive matches in recorded Cup history.
After defender Auston Trusty slammed in Sebastian Berhalter’s corner to put the Yanks up after only 3 minutes, Arda Guler, Turkey’s young star, drew his mates even in the 10th.
Then Baris Yilmaz put them ahead in the 31st and the Americans, who hadn’t trailed in the tournament, were on the back foot.
Berhalter produced the equalizer in the 49th and when Christian Pulisic, back in full stride after missing the last match with a tight calf muscle, came on for the final half hour it seemed that the US could pull out a victory.
Then came yet another defensive breakdown and a killer goal by Kaan Ayhan just before Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal looked at his watch and blew his whistle.
Who can say what the outcome might have been had the squads stuck with their starting elevens as they would have had the match, as originally anticipated, had been a showdown for the top spot in the group?
US coach Mauricio Pochettino swapped out nine starters and counterpart Vincenzo Montella seven. But both sides still strove vigorously to win.
The Turks needed to leave the tournament with a reason to hold up their heads and they produced one in dramatic fashion. The Americans wanted to win all three preliminary matches for the first time and keep the ball rolling into next week and beyond.
What they got instead was a jarring last-minute warning bell. Next time there won’t be another chance after a loss.
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