Early Friday morning (June 26, 5:00 a.m.), the United States and Turkey will face off at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for the third and final match of Group D in the North American World Cup.

Before the start of the premier soccer tournament, most soccer fans expected this match to be a true showdown in the battle for the top spot in the group. However, fate—and the Turks’ lack of accuracy—meant that the match ended up being a one-sided affair!

This was because Vincenzo Montella’s team disappointed with their performance in their first two group matches, losing 2-0 to Australia and 1-0 to Paraguay, despite averaging 31 shots on goal per match! Inevitably, then, Turkey is set to play its final World Cup match and be eliminated, since even a victory cannot secure them any position other than fourth in the group.

On the other hand, the U.S. is one of the teams that has impressed with its performance on North American fields, playing beautiful, fast-paced, and attacking soccer. Playing in front of their home crowd, Mauricio Pochettino’s team defeated Paraguay 4-1 in their opener, and they also defeated Australia 2-0, securing their spot in the knockout stage early on.

After all, the U.S. has already secured first place in the group and a favorable draw heading into the round of 32, which effectively gives the coaching staff the opportunity to rotate the lineup slightly and give more players playing time.

Possible starting lineups:

Turkey (Vincenzo Modella): Çakır, Muldur, Demir, Kabak, Kadioglu, Özkan, Çalhanoğlu, Yunus, Güler, Yildiz, Gül.

USA (Mauricio Pochettino): Fries, Freeman, Rim, Richards, Dest, McKennie, Adams, Tillman, Robinson, Balogun, Pepi.

*photo source: AP