World Cup 2026: Turkiye beat USA 3-2 with stoppage-time goal in dead rubber
Key takeaways
- Kaan Ayhan scored the winner late in stoppage time as Turkiye handed the US their first defeat of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- Already crowned the Group D winners, the US arrived in Los Angeles seeking to extend a perfect start with a third win, but with more than an eye on next Wednesday’s last-32 meeting against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- For Turkiye, already eliminated and without even a goal after disastrous losses to Paraguay and Australia, the only objective was to restore some pride.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Kaan Ayhan scored the winner late in stoppage time as Turkiye handed the US their first defeat of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Turkiye defender Kaan Ayhan (second from the left) celebrates after scoring his team's winning goal in stoppage time [Patrick T Fallon/AFP]By AFPPublished On 26 Jun 202626 Jun 2026Turkiye beat a heavily changed United States 3-2 with a late Kaan Ayhan winner in an action-packed dead-rubber clash that gave the 2026 World Cup cohosts their sternest test so far ahead of the knockout rounds.
Already crowned the Group D winners, the US arrived in Los Angeles seeking to extend a perfect start with a third win, but with more than an eye on next Wednesday’s last-32 meeting against Bosnia and Herzegovina.