The United States loses to Turkey while Paraguay and Australia play to a scoreless draw in the final match of Group D

Today marked the final matchday of Group D at the World Cup. In Los Angeles, the US national team, led by Mauricio Pochettino, suffered an unexpected 3–2 loss to Turkey, an opponent that had already been mathematically eliminated but competed with sporting pride.

Despite the last-minute defeat, the U.S. team managed to advance to the Round of 16 as group leader with six points, where they will now face Bosnia and Herzegovina. The setback exposed defensive lapses that somewhat dampened the enthusiasm the local fans had been building up.

A back-and-forth battle decided in the closing moments

The match began with USMNT holding the upper hand. Just six minutes in, Auston Trusty capitalized on a breakaway with a shot from a near-impossible angle to open the scoring.

However, the lead was short-lived; the talent of young star Arda Güler tied the game at the ten-minute mark, and later, Baris Yilmaz completed the Turkish comeback before the end of the first half.

In the second half, the US response was immediate, and Sebastian Berhalter restored the tie with a powerful volley from outside the box. Seeking to secure the lead decisively, Pochettino brought in Christian Pulisic, who was returning after overcoming physical discomfort suffered in training.

The Milan forward reignited the offense by hitting the crossbar and testing the opposing goalkeeper. However, just when the tie seemed set in stone, a stroke of genius from Güler set up Kaan Ayhan to score the decisive 3–2 goal in the 98th minute.

Paraguayan pragmatism holds steady against Australia’s discipline

Meanwhile, the national teams of Australia and Paraguay played a match dominated by tactical rigidity and extreme caution, ending in a 0-0 draw. The result secured the Australians’ advancement to the Round of 16 with four points, placing them second in the group.

Paraguay’s head coach, Gustavo Alfaro, implemented a distinctly conservative formation, fielding a five-man defensive line and a physically intense midfield with the primary goal of neutralizing the Australians’ wing play.

Although the initiative lay with the Socceroos—who came close to scoring in the first half with a shot by Cristian Volpato deflected by Orlando Gill—Paraguay evened the match in the second half with the substitution of Maurício.

With that point, "La Albirroja" moves to four points and remains in contention to clinch a spot as one of the tournament's eight best third-place teams.

The South American team has already performed better than the third-place finishers in Groups A and C (South Korea and Scotland), and is guaranteed to finish ahead of the third-place team in Group I.

To secure its spot, it only needs the combination of results to go its way in one of the five remaining groups.

(With information from AFP)