Facing each other for the first time in over a decade, the USA welcome Turkey to Rentschler Field in Hartford for a friendly on Saturday.

The Yanks are coming off a fourth-place finish at the CONCACAF Nations League in March, losing 2-1 to Canada for the bronze medal, while Turkey were promoted to League A in the UEFA version of that competition thanks to a 6-1 aggregate playoff victory over Hungary.

Match preview

Their reign as Nations League champions ended earlier this year, with the Americans failing to reach the podium for the first time in that competition.

Mauricio Pochettino has just over a year to prepare this team for the World Cup, and lately, it has not been going well for him or the team.

The former Tottenham and Chelsea manager has lost his last two matches in charge of the US, and they are in danger of losing three in a row for the second time in less than a year.

Since a 4-2 friendly defeat against Colombia in October 2018, the United States have won every international affair in which they have netted multiple times.

Saturday will be the eighth time the men’s team play a game at Rentschler Stadium, and they have suffered just one defeat over that stretch while winning four of those games.

They have won the last two meetings against the Turks, with both matches ending in a 2-1 result for the Yanks on American soil.

A strong League B campaign was rewarded earlier this year, as Turkey left no doubt in their two playoff fixtures against Hungary in March.

Vincenzo Montella’s next goal will be to qualify this team for the World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico next year, a tournament they have not competed in since finishing third in 2002.

The Crescent Stars enter this contest having lost just one of their last eight matches across all competitions, scoring 16 goals in that span.

This weekend, they have an opportunity to win consecutive away matches for the first time since June of last year (two games).

They have won their last four matches across all competitions when netting the opening goal, scoring a combined 10 goals in that run.

Turkey have only won one match this century versus a CONCACAF opponent, defeating the US 2-1 in France in the now-defunct FIFA Confederations Cup.

USA International Friendlies form:

USA form (all competitions):

Turkey International Friendlies form:

Turkey form (all competitions):

Team News

An ankle injury forced Folarin Balogun out of the US team for this friendly and the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup, Patrick Schulte is dealing with an oblique issue, Antonee Robinson has a minor knee problem and Yunus Musah withdrew from the squad for personal reasons.

They will also be missing Christian Pulisic, who requested time off after a long season at AC Milan, while Quinn Sullivan, Damion Downs, Sebastian Berhalter, Nathan Harriel, Alexander Freeman, Matt Freese and Chris Brady are all seeking their first caps with the national team.

Patrick Agyemang had the only goal in their defeat to Canada the last time out, and he will be returning to his hometown in East Hartford on Saturday.

As for the Turks, Montella called up six uncapped players for this friendly, including Mustafa Erhan Hekimoglu, Demir Ege Tiknaz, Mustafa Eskihellac, Yasin Ozcan, Berke Ozer and Muhammed Sengezer.

Captain Hakan Calhanoglu is three appearances shy of 100, while he and Cenk Tosun are a goal away from Tuncay Sanli for third all-time.

Abdulkerim Bardakci, Arda Guler and Calhanoglu all found the back of the net in their previous match, while Ugurcan Cakir made two stops to collect a clean sheet.

USA possible starting lineup:

Turner; Dest, Richards, Ream, Arfsten; Adams, de la Torre; Cardoso, Wright, Aaronson; Agyemang

Turkey possible starting lineup:

Cakir; Muldur, Akaydin, Soyuncu, Eskihellac; Calhanoglu, Ozcan; Yilmaz, Guler, Tiknaz; Yildiz

We say: USA 1-2 Turkey

The US have not been able to beat teams in their region of late, and that was with some of the best players at their disposal.

We expect it will be a struggle for them to contain a side in high spirits with plenty of continuity and depth in the attacking third. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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