The US rotates five key starters—can this B team really be stronger than Turkey?

Pochettino has confirmed: players who are on yellow cards will not start.

Balogun, Adams, Richards, and Robinson—those four are all resting. Pulisic has just returned from injury and will most likely appear as a substitute only in the second half. That means the US team has to swap out at least five starters.

Who will take their places? Goalkeeper Freese; center-backs McKenzie and Ream; midfielders Behalter and Tillman; forward Pepi. These players aren’t without talent—Pepi plays in the Eredivisie, and Tillman plays in the Bundesliga—but the level of understanding between them is nothing like what the starting lineup has.

Turkey is exactly the opposite. Montella fields his full-strength lineup. Çalhanoğlu, Güler, Yıldız, Demiral, and Kadıoğlu all start. One side has a B team “saving energy for the knockout stage,” and the other has the strongest lineup “fighting for pride.”

Before the match, Pochettino said something particularly telling: “Whoever steps onto the field must have the determination to ‘eat grass.’” Put simply, it means: I know this lineup isn’t strong enough, but you have to fight. Even the coach himself admits that they need to rely on grit to make up for the gap in ability.

So the question is—does the US’s B team really end up stronger than Turkey’s strongest lineup? I don’t think so.

#预测世界杯土耳其VS美国