World Cup 2026 live updates: France vs. Norway, Iraq vs. Senegal as Mbappe and Haaland square off

The United States only wanted to get through its final World Cup group stage match Thursday night without an injury or a red card, while Turkey was playing for a face-saving victory to end a dismal tournament.

Both teams got what they wanted most out of their meaningless meeting before the Americans head on to the knockout stage — and coach Mauricio Pochettino was annoyed by any suggestion that the Americans’ last-gasp, 3-2 defeat said anything negative about the state of his team.

“For you not say congratulations that we won the group, that is a little bit sad,” Pochettino told reporters.

“What we need to remember is we won first place in this group,” Pochettino added while speaking in Spanish and English. “We ended up being No. 1, and we managed all the pressure and the expectations quite well. We had other priorities. We wanted to win. We did want the victory, but there are other things we needed to balance out, and that’s how I made the decisions. … Making history is winning the World Cup, not just winning the group. It’s a little bit petty, if you will. You’re thinking just a little bit too small.”