These 3 USMNT Players Shouldn't Play Another Minute at the World Cup

The United States of America are going onto the Round of 32 as Group D winners in the opening round of the 2026 World Cup, but it ended on a bit of a sour note, as they gave up a last second goal to Turkey to break up their unbeaten record.

While it stings, the Americans started an entirely rotated roster in the match against Turkey, with only midfield engine Weston McKennie getting the start. While starters like Christian Pulisic and Malik Tillman made appearances in the final third of the game, a majority of it was played by USA's B-team.

While a few like Auston Trusty impressed, a majority of them showed why they are on the bench for the team.

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As the Americans prepare for Bosnia-Herzegovina in a few days down in the Bay Area, here are the three players from the Turkey game that shouldn't see another second on the field this tournament.

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Team USA sent a clear message on four players with yellow cards.

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Timothy Weah

It pains me to write this as I've been a fan of Weah on the team since he made his debut for the national team all the way back in 2018. He's a good player. At times he can be a very good, productive player.

But what we saw last night against Turkey was Weah at his worst. He couldn't dribble, had the pace of a tortoise, and kept finding himself offsides on every counter attack by the USA. You could chalk it up to him being on a different side of the field as usual, but this isn't a campaign -- it's at, if you're lucky, an eight-game tournament.

The team doesn't have time to hope that Weah can bounce back with a better performance in the knockouts, when there are better options currently ahead of him on the team.

Mark McKenzie

Miles Robinson was also awful on defense on Thursday, but with out little depth the Americans have on defense, he is a better option than McKenize. Although he has stature, McKenize doesn't know how to use it properly against top international competition and looked lost on all three goals Turkey scored.

If he sees another minute this tournament, something has gone terribly wrong for the USA or they're up 5-0.

Matt Turner

Although it's unfair to pin all three goals on Turner last night, he looked nervous with the ball at his feet and didn't do anything to make me want to ever see him start for the national team again. I thank him for what he did four years ago in Qatar, but this tournament should be won or lost by Matt Freese, and then hopefully the squad can develop a legitimate, high-level goalkeeper by the 2030 World Cup.

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