Kaan Ayhan’s prodded finish with the last kick of an entertaining contest won the match for Turkey, who had fallen behind inside three minutes.
Turkiye beat a heavily changed United States 3-2 with a late Kaan Ayhan winner in an action-packed clash that gave the World Cup cohosts their toughest test so far ahead of the knockout rounds.
For Turkiye, already eliminated and without even a goal after disastrous losses to Paraguay and Australia, the only objective was to restore some pride.
For the third game running, the US got off to a dream start. One of nine changes, backup centre-back Auston Trusty, was unmarked at the far post from a US corner, given time to cushion the ball with his left foot, then blast it home in the 3rd minute. However, Vincenzo Montella’s side – who had lost their two opening games – soon settled as Arda Guler equalised with Turkey’s first goal at this year’s finals with a close-range finish from Baris Alper Yilmaz’s reverse pass in the 10th minute of the game.
And Orkun Kokcu’s shot then appeared to flick off Yilmaz’s thigh at the end of a sweeping move down the left, which again involved the impressive Real Madrid midfielder Guler, as Turkey turned the match around.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side returned from the half-time break with more intensity and levelled courtesy of Sebastian Berhalter’s 20-yard effort into the bottom left corner.
Substitute Christian Pulisic went close on three occasions as the US searched for a winner, with Cakir reacting brilliantly to tip one of those efforts against the post.
At the other end of the pitch, Kenan Yildiz curled wide and Yilmaz lost his footing when he seemed well positioned to score, before Ayhan turned home Can Uzun’s touch towards goal at the death.
