62 shots, 0 goals, 0 points — A meaningless World Cup match reveals the true colors of both teams.

180 minutes, 62 shots, zero goals.

Since Opta began tracking World Cup shots in 1966, no team has taken 62 shots over two games without scoring. Of those 62 attempts, only 13 were on target; the other 49 went wide or were blocked.

On the other side of the pitch, the United States secured back-to-back wins to lock up first place in Group D. Coach Pochettino benched all four starting players with yellow cards and kept Pulisic on the bench.

Turkey suffocated themselves with 75.1% possession. The US, meanwhile, calculated how to enter the knockout stage with a clean slate of yellow cards.

62 shots sounds like bad luck. 13 on target with zero goals—missing that many chances is no longer about hitting the post.

Coach Montella defended his team after the match: “They are human, not machines. This team has achieved good results over the past three years and deserves more respect.” When asked about his job security, he snapped: “I won’t resign.”

In the ledger of competitive sports, there is no room for “respect.” Over two matches, Turkey’s 75.1% possession turned into a rosary of pointless control, yielding zero points and zero goals. A 2-0 loss to Australia could be excused as a slow start, but a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay exposed the cracks. Opponent Galarza struck 64 seconds into the match, setting a record for the fastest goal in this World Cup. 180 minutes of ineffective possession, undone by a 64-second counterattack.

Güler, Çalhanoğlu, Yıldız—the midfield and attack of Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Juventus. A total squad value of €473 million became the most expensive spectators on the World Cup pitch.

Shift focus to the US bench. Pochettino’s abacus beads were almost flying into reporters’ faces.

Pulisic played 45 minutes in the opener, then was subbed off with left calf discomfort. Over the next two matches, the US star never even took off his warm-up jacket.

Without him, the US crushed Paraguay 4-1 and shut out Australia 2-0. Balogun scored twice against Paraguay and forced Burgess’s own goal against Australia. Two goals put him atop the team’s scoring chart. On the Golden Boot leaderboard, he sits tied for sixth—Messi leads with 5, Mbappé and Haaland have 4 each, while Undav and Jonathan David have 3 apiece ahead of him. The gap is clear; he needs to keep scoring in the knockout stage.

Pochettino managed the group stage with the precision of a Champions League knockout. He set up a 3-4-3 against Paraguay and won. After Pulisic’s injury, he switched to a two-striker system against Australia, with Pepi partnering Balogun, and won again. Two systems, two winning formulas. Opponents couldn’t find his playbook.

Now he opened a more shrewd ledger. Adams, Richards, Balogon, Robinson—four starters on the front lines, each with a yellow card. At the pre-match press conference, Pochettino laid it out plainly: “The decision is simple. There’s no need to risk players with yellow cards.” He repeatedly reminded the media: in this World Cup, “there are no friendly matches.”

When a team starts managing yellow cards and fitness in the group stage like a Champions League schedule, the group play becomes an extension of the knockout round.

That extended 90 minutes turned into a do-or-die moment for fringe players.

Pepi waited four years. In 2022, Berhalter cut him from the Qatar World Cup roster at the last minute, leaving him to watch from home. He made Pochettino’s final 26-man squad and got a brief cameo as a substitute against Australia. Tonight at SoFi Stadium, he will likely start.

90 minutes. For a forward who was once cast aside, this might be his only stage in the entire tournament.

Reyna’s situation is even more suffocating. Since the start of 2026, his Bundesliga playing time for Borussia Mönchengladbach has been minimal. Against Augsburg, he played 33 minutes, delivered six key passes, and scored his first goal for the club. After that burst, the bench held him down again.

At the World Cup, fringe players get no second chances. A “meaningless” match is their only chip.

Bosnia beat Qatar 3-1, almost securing third place in Group B. On July 1st, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the first knockout round.

All the US’s calculations are fixed on those 90 minutes. Bench the four starters with yellow cards, let Pulisic keep recovering, and throw Pepi and Reyna into the fray.

Turkey’s 180 minutes are over. 62 shots are a joke, and the €473 million squad heads home with zero goals.

SoFi Stadium is still packed tonight. The cheapest ticket on the resale market is $1,407. Fans in the stands paid to watch a “meaningless” garbage-time match. But every substitution on the pitch is a bead on the abacus for the do-or-die ledger on July 1st.