As they prepare to face Turkiye in their final group stage game, the United States men's national team are in uncharted territory at the World Cup. Securing their place in the round of 32 and becoming the winner of Group D after Turkiye fell to Paraguay, the USMNT now have a game to spare where the result in the match doesn't matter. But despite that, Mauricio Pochettino can't rest all of his starters ahead of their knockout stage match on July 1.
If he were to do that, the team would have gone almost 12 days from their win over Australia to then playing in their round of 32 match. While that isn't a ton of time, it's something that impacts some players more than others because rhythm has been one of the key drivers behind why the team has been performing so well. Players like Chris Richards may have come in with injuries, Christian Pulisic has also picked up one, and that gives the coach much to consider when planning for Turkiye. But weighing the importance of rest and aiming to keep momentum will be key.
Yellow card offenders
An easy place to start here is that four players on the USMNT would be suspended if they were to pick up another yellow card in the match; they would be suspended for the round of 32. Even if players are able to avoid fouling, this isn't something worth risking when the consequences are so dire. The players who are on yellows are Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, and Antonee Robinson.
It helps that three of those players are ones who have dealt with injuries during the season and should be rested anyway to avoid issues cropping up, and they all have backups who it'd be good for Pochettino to see more of. Mark McKenzie, Cristian Roldan, Ricardo Pepi, and Max Arfsten are all players who can come in and look to show that they can be relied on in the knockout stages if needed. Pochettino hasn't been married to a specific setup during the tournament so far, so if someone can provide a reason why they should play more, there's space to make that happen.
Injuries and more
What to do with Christian Pulisic will be a major focus of the game. The USMNT have been without their talisman since the first half against Paraguay, as a leg injury has cropped up during the tournament. While Pulisic has been training individually, he wasn't fit enough to even make the bench against Australia, which does make you wonder if he should feature at all during the Turkiye match. I don't think he should see much game time, but it's important to get some match rhythm and ensure that if there is rust, he plays to be in the best condition possible to play 90 minutes in the round of 32, where the USMNT will need him. This, of course, is assuming that Pulisic is healthy enough to feature, which, if he isn't, then he shouldn't be near the pitch, but that part goes without saying.
Sergino Dest is also someone who has been critical to the USMNT but shouldn't be anywhere near a pitch in this one. Dest missed most of the end of the season for PSV with a hamstring injury, and while he seems to be back to full fitness for the USMNT, there's no reason to test that when Tim Weah can fill in for him.
Tim Ream and Weston McKennie are players who Pochettino may be able to ask if they want to play and either play them for a half or bench them in the match. Getting players who want to keep ticking over minutes will be important, but when some players haven't left the pitch during the World Cup, that also needs to be taken into account. Adams, Ream, Richards, Alex Freeman, and Matt Freese have featured in every minute so far. Freeman is 21, so starting and keeping a routine may be more important for him than the others, but that's when it's good to spread the playing time around now that qualification is secured.
United States predicted XI
Starters: Matt Freese, Max Arfsten, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie, Alex Freeman, Cristian Roldan, Sebastian Berhalter, Brenden Aaronson, Alejandro Zendejas, Tim Weah, Ricardo Pepi
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