Türkiye vs USA | FIFA World Cup 2026 — Group Stage | Preview and Prediction

Türkiye will face co-hosts USA in a dead rubber on June 26 at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California.

For the game, here we present our preview and prediction.

FIFA WC26 | Group D: TUR vs USA | 07:30 IST, June 26, 2026

Türkiye were considered dark horses at the start of this tournament, with several pundits touting them as a serious threat. However, they have disappointed their fans with two underwhelming performances, which have knocked them out of the World Cup in the group stage itself.

After the surprise loss to Australia, everyone expected them to make a comeback and defeat Paraguay, but they lost to La Albirroja as well, despite dominating the proceedings and having many scoring chances.

Türkiye conceded an early goal against Paraguay as early as the second minute. Paraguay also went down to ten men when forward Miguel Almirón was sent off in first-half stoppage time. Although Türkiye played with a numerical advantage for an entire half, they couldn’t score even one goal. They had 78% possession with a cumulative xG of 2.17, taking 32 total shots but managing only five on target.

Wastefulness and indecisiveness in the final third have cost Türkiye, and now that they have been knocked out, they will probably want to bow out with a win and recoup some pride.

As for the co-hosts, the World Cup couldn’t have started in a better manner for them. The US started their campaign with a 4–1 thrashing of Paraguay before beating Australia comfortably to ensure qualification to the round of 32. Mauricio Pochettino may want to rest a few of the starters in this game, which could be an advantage for Türkiye.

For Türkiye, Yunus Akgün is doubtful for the game due to physical discomfort, while Cristian Roldan might be absent for the USA due to a muscle injury.

Türkiye have a lot of top players, many of whom play for top European clubs — Kenan Yildiz, Arda Güler, and Hakan Çalhanoglu are but a few famous names. But the eternal dark horses have been massively wasteful, and not having a proper finisher has hurt them big time. The USA, meanwhile, have a strong squad and are in great form, so they cannot be taken lightly.

With the co-hosts not too bothered about the result here, Türkiye could go all out in this game, express themselves, and end their dismal World Cup campaign on a winning note.

Score Prediction: Türkiye 2–0 United States of America
Venue: Los Angeles Stadium, in Inglewood, California, USA