Pochettino Weighs 4 Yellow-Card Risks for USMNT's World Cup Finale vs Turkey

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 20

Four U.S. starters — Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson — are on yellow cards, making them prime candidates to sit out the meaningless Group D finale against already-eliminated Turkey.
Two yellows in the three group games trigger a one-match suspension, so playing any of them Thursday could cost the U.S. key pieces for its round-of-32 match on July 1.
Christian Pulisic adds a second selection dilemma: he missed the 2-0 Australia win with a calf issue, is improving, and could use minutes after what would otherwise be a 19-day gap between games.
Pochettino must balance that caution against rhythm, with six days before and after Turkey reducing the need for rest and strengthening the case for keeping much of the regular lineup intact.
Possible beneficiaries of rotation include Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Mark McKenzie, Max Arfsten, Sebastian Berhalter and Cristian Roldan as the U.S. protects momentum entering the knockout stage.