Maurico Pochettino has won his first two World Cup games as the United States Men’s National Team head coach. In doing so, he is tied, with a few different men, for the most World Cup wins in USMNT history. So if the USA beats Turkey on Thursday night, in a rare World Cup dead rubber affair, he’ll own the record all to himself. Then comes the Round of 32 match, against opponent TBD on July 1 in Santa Clara, CA.
The USA only has one knockout round victory in their entire program history. So obviously, Pochettino can tie the record for KO round Ws with a win there, and then break the record in the round of 16.
World Cup Group D Matchday 3 of 3
USMNT vs Turkey
Kickoff: Thursday June 25th, LA, 9pm CST (yes, the central time zone!)
Broadcast: regular OTA FOX on TV, FOX One and FOX Sports apps, streaming on Tubi
USMNT Preview Material: Team News Predicted Starting XI
Current FIFA Ranking: USMNT #13 Turkey #32
Google’s Result Probability: Turkey win 26% Draw 24% USA win 50%
Group Standing: Turkey- already eliminated from the competition USA- Won the Group already!!!
I feel like this Pochettino fact is not being talked about enough. The main Pochettino fact getting all the attention right now is his being Russell Crowe’s doppelganger. Which is real and spectacular, sure, but the USMNT is here on home soil to win games, not make memes.
This is why hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, and some of his contemporaries (got to shout out the hedge fund billionaires when you can, because after all, they ought to have something going for them in life) ponied up all that dough to fund Poch’s salary.
Results are expected, not encouraged.
Pulisic Update
You can stop calling Pulisic’s issue “a knock,” as it is an actual “injury.” A knock is something that maybe, at best you can maybe play through. At worst, a knock is something you shake off in a couple/few days and then you’re full go again. Pulisic has been out for well over a week. He’s only played in one of four possible halves of World Cup play so far.
He is “injured.”
However, it’s not a serious injury. It’s tightness in his calf. Should Pulisic play on Thursday night, if he’s match fit?
After all, the USMNT has already clinched this grouping, and Turkey is already eliminated, so this match really doesn’t mean anything at all.
Best case scenario- Pulisic sees about 20-30 minutes off the bench in the second half here, and then starts the knockout round game next week.
Yellow Card Quartet
Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee “Jedi” Robinson head into this clash carrying a yellow card.
Under the World Cup rules, any player who receives two yellow cards in the three group-stage games is suspended for the next match (i.e. the round of 32 game). Yellow cards are reset once the group stage is complete. They are wiped clean again after the quarterfinals.
Adams, Balogun, Richards and Robinson are four of the first few names that Pochettino puts into his USMNT team sheet.
They are all way too important to be risked here. Poch needs to sit them for this one.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.