USA became the second team to qualify for the knockout stage.
Two defeats have quickly ended Turkiye’s hyped World Cup return.
USA might rest key players ahead of the Round of 32.
The USA and Turkiye play in a rare group game with no consequences. The former has already secured the top spot in Group D, while the latter has already been eliminated.
Still, playing in front of its home fans in Los Angeles, the USA will want to keep up its momentum heading into the knockout stage. Meanwhile, Turkiye will want to save face after two disappointing losses.
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This was meant to be one of the marquee games of Group D, with two teams widely expected to be of similar quality. In fact, Turkiye was many fans’ pick to be a dark horse for a deep run. Instead, Turkiye hasn’t even scored in defeats to Paraguay and Australia. With head-to-head tiebreakers, even a win over the USA can’t get Turkiye out of fourth place.
But Turkiye will want to try and restore some pride, especially for a young team that will need to learn from this experience. While they haven’t set the tournament alight as Turkiye hoped, Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz are still top attacking talents. Guler looked especially dangerous against Australia, recording eight shots.
For the USA, they can still benefit from another test against what is still a solid team. They will likely do so without talisman Christian Pulisic. He returned to training after missing the Australia win due to a calf injury, but there’s no reason to risk him aggravating it. The USA will likely also be without midfielder Cristian Roldan. Still, this is a team full of talent that is playing at the peak of its power. The co-hosts are rightfully heavy favorites.
USA (-105)
Even a reduced strength USA side with nothing to play for is the play in this match. Mauricio Pochettino’s outfit has looked supremely confident on home soil, and will have the motivation to give its fans another impressive show. A perfect group stage run won’t change the USA’s knockout path, but it will give the team another uptick in confidence.
Missing Pulisic isn’t as big of an issue as in years past, too. Giovanni Reyna is capable of being the creative force for the attack, while the rest of the midfield is capable of stymying Guler and Yildiz. Turkiye can play aggressively, knowing that it’s already out. But the USA is set up well to take advantage, with great transition play.
Over 2.5 Goals (-140)
Turkiye might not have scored so far at this World Cup, but creating chances wasn’t a problem in the first two games, with 33 shots against Paraguay and 28 against Australia. Turkiye’s luck in front of goal is bound to change. The USA also routinely leaves itself vulnerable in defense. The clean sheet against Australia was its first in 10 games.
The USA looked spectacular going forward against Paraguay but looked more mortal against Australia. They should settle somewhere in between those two performances, which should be more than enough for the over to hit, priced at around -140 at top World Cup betting sites, including BetMGM.
Haji Wright (+165)
The USA may rotate some of its top players, or all give them limited minutes after starting. This would likely include Folarin Balogun. So we’ll go with Haji Wright, who should feature prominently after limited action so far.
Wright’s physicality could be a problem for Turkiye’s defense. Plus, the Coventry City forward is coming off an 18-goal season that helped earn his team promotion.
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