United States 1-2 Turkiye: Pochettino´s side stutter in Gold Cup preparations

The United States’ preparations for the CONCACAF Gold Cup started poorly as they were beaten 2-1 by Turkiye in an international friendly in East Hartford on Saturday.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team have now lost their last three matches across all competitions, following disappointing defeats to Panama and Mexico in the Nations League.

The USMNT return to action on Wednesday when they face Switzerland in another friendly, before they take on Trinidad and Tobago in their first game of the Gold Cup.

Ahead of kick-off, Pochettino was forced to make several changes to his starting lineup, with many of his first-team regulars, including Christian Pulisic, absent.

Indeed, the USMNT named eight MLS players in a starting XI for a match against UEFA opposition outside the December and January camps for the first time since May 2003.

That initially mattered little as the USA got themselves ahead with just 59 seconds on the clock through Jack McGlynn, who curled a stunning effort into the bottom-left corner.

Turkiye should have levelled in the 18th minute when Kenan Yildiz’s cutback found Arda Guler, but the Real Madrid man could only fire over from inside the penalty area.

Guler, however, drew his side level in quite bizarre fashion soon after, with Johnny Cardoso’s attempted clearance cannoning off the attacker and squirming past Matt Freese.

And Turkiye got themselves ahead three minutes later when Oguz Aydin’s cross was blocked into the path of Kerem Akturkoglu, who fired a right-footed strike home.

2:22 – Türkiye’s goals 2 minutes, 22 seconds apart were the fastest the #USMNT has conceded two goals since November 2018 vs. England (1:44). Flash. pic.twitter.com/LM44LxM9KC

— OptaJack(@OptaJack) June 7, 2025

The hosts improved after the break and had two glorious chances to get themselves level, with Max Arfsten heading narrowly wide from Luca de la Torre’s inviting cross.

Malik Tillman then saw his effort gathered by Berke Ozer after good work from substitute Tyler Adams, with the USA growing in confidence as they searched for an equaliser.

Turkiye almost hit them with a sucker punch nine minutes from time after Tillman cheaply lost possession, but Baris Alper Yilmaz could only fire wide at the end of a fast break.

Data Debrief: Quickfire Turkiye halt fast-starting USA

The USA made a dream start to proceedings on Saturday, with McGlynn’s goal after 59 seconds the earliest they have ever scored against UEFA opposition, but their struggles under Pochettino continued after Turkiye’s quickfire turnaround.

The visitors’ goals were two minutes and 22 seconds apart, the fastest the USMNT have conceded twice since November 2018 against England (one minute and 44 seconds).

But there were positives for Pochettino to take despite the defeat, with the USA ing an expected goals (xG) total of 1.08 from their 10 shots in the second half, compared to Turkiye’s 0.21 from their two efforts after the break.