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Winners and losers from USMNT's loss to Turkiye
The United States Men's National Team fell 2-1 to Türkiye in East Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday. It's the USMNT's third straight defeat of 2025, following losses to Panama and Canada in the Nations League finals in March.
If that sounds like bad news for the USMNT, it is; the team would rather not be scrabbling for results on home soil just one year out from hosting the World Cup. But this performance against Türkiye was full of moments that prove the USMNT's future remains bright. With the likes of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Yunus Musah and Antonee Robinson all unavailable, the USMNT B-team put in a spirited performance that looked far more coherent than what the A-team managed a few short months ago.
Games like this one deserve context. While the USMNT obviously wants to win every match it enters, its under-resourced B-team probably should be playing out a closely-run loss against a strong European opponent like Türkiye. Anything better than that would be exceptional; anything worse than that would be inadequate. That means this particular loss isn't a catastrophe for the USMNT: it's simply an extension of the team's status quo. (Whether or not that is a catastrophe in and of itself, however, remains an open question.)
Who stood out during this performance? Who fell short? And who might be working their way into Pochettino's A-team as the World Cup looms? Here are our thoughts on the USMNT's winners and losers against Türkiye:
Winner: Jack McGlynn
McGlynn is a polarizing figure within the USMNT fandom. To his supporters, McGlynn is one of the team's few true line-breaking passers. To his detractors, though, McGlynn is something of a defensive liability: the kind of player who has neither the speed nor the positional awareness to track back and cover for his teammates. If he's not scoring bangers, his detractors reason, he's not doing anything at all.
Well. On Saturday, McGlynn scored one of those trademark jaw-dropping left-footed goals, and he managed to do it just 59 seconds after kickoff. His beautiful curled shot knocked the air clean out of Türkiye's lungs and tilted the opening twenty minutes firmly in the USMNT's favor. McGlynn may never be the all-around midfielder USMNT fans need him to be, but performances like this one show just how world-class he is as a goalscorer.
Loser: Johnny Cardoso
If you asked a first-time soccer viewer which member of this USMNT squad made it to a European final this season, they would've named everyone before settling on Cardoso. What a shame that is.
Cardoso is one of American soccer's finest exports: he had a brilliant season for Real Betis in Spain and is in talks to play alongside Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann at Atletico Madrid. But Cardoso has never, not once, found his footing with the USMNT, and today was no exception. His error in the 24th minute wound up deciding the game in Türkiye's favor.
Winner: Max Arfsten
Arfsten, one of the sleeper hits of the Pochettino era, really grew into this Türkiye game. He started things off in a far more defensive role, man-marking the likes of Real Madrid's Arda Güler, but slowly blossomed into one of the team's strongest attacking threats. His lung-busting runs up the flank created chaos for Türkiye in the second half.
Loser: Nathan Harriel
Harriel, one of several Philadelphia Union academy players in this USMNT lineup, didn't cover himself in glory against Türkiye, but his lack of impact wasn't exactly his fault. The 24-year-old just looked like he needed a few more reps at a high level in order to find his footing. This was his first-ever USMNT cap, and it looked like it.
Winner: Chris Richards
The USMNT has been in desperate need of a defensive leader since...about 2014, when Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo finally hung up their boots. While Charlotte's Tim Ream and Nashville's Walker Zimmerman have deputized well in recent seasons, Crystal Palace stalwart Chris Richards blew them both out of the water against Türkiye. He's been full of confidence since winning the FA Cup—if he can keep evolving and improving, he'll be a nailed-on starter for the 2026 World Cup.
The USMNT will return to action on Tuesday, June 10, against Switzerland in Nashville, Tennessee.
More must-reads:
- Stars, snubs, surprises: What to make of USMNT's Gold Cup roster
- Chicago Fire hoping to undo past mistakes with new stadium plans
- The 'American League WAR leaders' quiz
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