Inside look at how USMNT-Turkey World Cup showdown will play out

INGLEWOOD, Calif.— That rarest of things will play out here Thursday: a World Cup match that carries no meaning other than pride.With the USMNT having already clinched its spot at the top of Group D and a knockout stage pathway that keeps the Americans on the West Coast through the quarterfinals, and with Turkey having been eliminated after two losses that had 86 million collective heads in hands, Thursday’s match has an oddly perfunctory feel to it.Granted, that does help the country’s collective stress level.The Post breaks down the matchup between the USMNT and Turkey.You’ve seen what Mauricio Pochettino’s side wants to do throughout its first two games: Play with the ball, be fluid, be aggressive and use the prodigious attacking talent on the USMNT’s roster.Turkey, a more offensive team than Paraguay or Australia, will be less willing to play into that.

The Turks have played a 4-2-3-1 in both of their first two games, and though they’ve astonishingly failed to score despite 62 total shots, they’ve rarely ever had extended time without the ball.Australia and Paraguay did, however, both have lots of success counterattacking against the Turks, who looked disorganized after losing the ball in both games.The main things to watch here, in no particular order, are how Christian Pulisic looks, whether the U.S.can play its preferred style against a more offensive opponent and if any players who get rotated in — Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun and Antonee Robinson are on yellows and none are expected to play — make a case to do so in the round of 32.

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