Turkey beats United States 3-2 as Christian Pulisic returns from injury

Christian Pulisic returned from injury and the United States still left SoFi Stadium with a 3-2 loss to Turkey, a result sealed by Kaan Ayhan’s 98th-minute goal after a scramble in front of the net. The bigger development for the Americans was Pulisic’s first action since he had been sidelined, a substitute appearance early in the second half that drew a loud reaction from the sellout crowd in Inglewood, California.

The U.S. had already clinched Group D before the match, so the defeat did not alter its path to the knockout stage. The Americans advanced to the round of 32 and will face Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1 in Santa Clara, California. That made Pulisic’s minutes more significant than the score line: the staff got a live test of his fitness, and the team got another look at how its attack functions with its most important creator back in the lineup.

Turkey’s win was its first of the tournament, but it was not enough to keep the side alive in the competition. For the United States, the loss was the first at the 2026 World Cup and ended its unbeaten run in group play. The late collapse also sharpened the larger question facing the Americans heading into next week: whether this is finally a first-choice team with Pulisic available, or whether the same structural weaknesses still surface when the match turns chaotic.

Pulisic’s return mattered because it changed the tone of the night long before Ayhan’s winner. His presence gave the U.S. a healthier attacking reference point and a clearer path toward the knockout rounds, where the games carry greater weight than group standings. The final minutes, however, offered a reminder that fitness alone does not erase fragility. When Turkey forced a decisive scramble in front of the goal, the United States could not finish the game with the control expected of a side that had already secured advancement.

The result leaves the U.S. with something more useful than an unbeaten record: evidence that Pulisic is back in time for the round of 32, and a warning that the margin for error remains thin as the tournament enters its decisive stage.