How Should Poch Handle Türkiye? Favorite Match So Far? Maurice Edu Answers Fans' Questions

The USA faces an interesting situation on Thursday. The Americans have already won their group, and Türkiye has already been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.

So, does U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino try to continue building off the USA's good start, or does he put the focus on the round of 32?

Let's answer your questions.

If you were Poch, how would you handle this game vs. Türkiye? 

— Blake Newton (@blake_newton48)

There’s a good thing that’s brewing with this squad right now, and I don’t want to see much of that get disrupted by just making complete wholesale changes. That’s not to say I don’t trust the depth of this group. I just want to keep building the momentum within this team as much as possible.

The key players who will not play, though: anyone who is one yellow card away from suspension. Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson and Folarin Balogun are one yellow card away from missing the round of 32 game. Nobody wants that to happen. This also gives Poch a chance to get minutes for some more guys who could be important down the stretch in later rounds.

The key storyline: Christian Pulisic.

Christian Pulisic missed the USA's win over Australia because of his calf injury. (John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)

I am only playing him from the start if he is 100 percent fit. If he’s 85 or 90 percent, I’m not starting him. If that’s the case, maybe he gets 10 or 15 minutes of run, maybe as much as a half hour, toward the end, but I’m not pushing him or putting him in any jeopardy.

The goal is to have a fully healthy Christian who is capable of firing on all cylinders for the round of 32.

Who’s the player you’re most excited to see who we haven’t seen much of yet? 

— Jacobi Moore