USMNT faces – The U.S. men’s national team plays Turkey on Thursday, June 25 at 10 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, with Group D already settled—meaning the match shapes playing time and discipline heading into the knockout stages rather than the table.
INGLEWOOD, CA — The U.S. men’s national team walks into Thursday night at SoFi Stadium knowing the Group D finale can’t change the standings. Still, when the kickoff clock hits 10 p.m. ET on June 25, it won’t be a meaningless game.
The U.S. has already advanced as group winners, while Turkey is already eliminated. That leaves the Group D table unchanged, but it keeps one practical pressure on the players: earning minutes ahead of the knockout rounds.
The game will air on Fox, with additional viewing options on Fubo or the Fox One App. Spanish-language broadcasts are available on Telemundo and Peacock. Lineups will be announced approximately an hour before kickoff.
At the World Cup. the disciplinary rules add a layer of strategy to a match that otherwise wouldn’t matter for Group D. If a player receives two yellow cards during the group stage. he is suspended for the following game. even if that next game is in the knockout stage. Yellow cards, however, do reset after the group stage.
That means the U.S. staff may look at who’s on a booking and who’s at risk of missing a Round of 32 match. Several key players already have yellow cards. including midfielder Tyler Adams. who picked up a yellow card in the 59th minute against Paraguay. Defender Antonee Robinson has a yellow card from the 56th minute against Australia. Striker Folarin Balogun was booked in the 89th minute against Australia. Defender Chris Richards received a yellow card in second-half stoppage time against Australia.
The U.S. will also be managing momentum and freshness after clinching the group, with the expectation that it will field a reserve-heavy side. Turkey, for its part, is “wounded” in the sense that it’s playing without anything left to gain in the standings.
Behind the scenes, the Group D standings after two matches already tell the story. USA sits at 2-0-0 (+5) with 6 points. Australia is 1-1-0 (0) with 3 points. Paraguay is 1-1-0 (-2) with 3 points. Turkey is 0-2-0 (-3) with 0 points, eliminated, and the clinched spot in the Round of 32 for the U.S. is already secured.
Turkey will also be entering this game with history pressing at the margins. Turkey has never won the World Cup, finishing in third place at the 2002 tournament. This match is Turkey’s first appearance at the World Cup since.
The stakes for the U.S. night, then, aren’t in the math of Group D. They’re in the minutes that decide who’s sharp when the tournament truly tightens—and in whether players with yellow cards will be protected or pushed. knowing how quickly a booking can turn into a suspension when the next game arrives.
That human reality is part of why even an already-decided group finale still feels loaded: for players fighting for roles, Thursday night is less about the table and more about who’s trusted with the next challenge.
USMNT Turkey SoFi Stadium World Cup Group D June 25 kickoff time 10 p.m. ET yellow cards suspension Tyler Adams Antonee Robinson Folarin Balogun Chris Richards Fox Fubo Telemundo Peacock