Inglewood United States falls to Turkey 3-2 | JQJO

INGLEWOOD, California – The United States men’s national soccer team ended its FIFA World Cup Group D schedule with a dramatic 3-2 loss to Turkey at SoFi Stadium on Thursday night, in front of a sold-out crowd near Los Angeles. The match marked the highly anticipated return of Christian Pulisic, who entered as a second-half substitute in the 58th minute after missing 13 days with a left calf injury. Pulisic had been sidelined since leaving the Americans’ tournament-opening 4-1 win over Paraguay at halftime, when he created one goal and assisted on another before the injury forced him off. He then missed the 2-0 victory over Australia and watched the first half against Turkey from the bench.

The AC Milan midfielder received an enormous roar from the raucous crowd when he came on and quickly showed his trademark speed and creativity down the left wing, helping generate several dangerous attacking moves and nearly scoring shortly after his introduction. His return provided a significant boost to the U.S. squad as it looks ahead to the World Cup Round of 32, which the Americans had already secured by clinching first place in Group D before this match. However, Pulisic also appeared on the wrong side of a decisive moment, when Turkey’s Arda Güler nutmegged him and started the move that produced Turkey’s game-winning goal on the final kick of the match.