Tim Ream asks, 'Why not U.S.?'

When the USMNT takes the pitch on Thursday, they’ll already know their fate. The victors of Group D will play a 3rd placed team — most likely Bosnia and Herzegovina — at Santa Clara… err… San Francisco Stadium and will aim to do so with the first-choice XI intact. 

Mauricio Pochettino is going to have to juggle some competing forces:

1. Keeping top players sharp ahead of the 6-day break between Thursday’s Group Stage finale and next Wednesday’s Round of 32 opener.
2. Pulisic’s calf injury that kept him out of last week’s decisive win over Australia – does he need to play to find a rhythm?
3. Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, and Jedi Robinson are all sitting on Yellow Cards heading into the final group stage match, with disciplinary records resetting at both the knockouts and semifinals at this edition of the World Cup.

So, how does Pochettino manage that — does he rest Pulisic, Richards, Adams, Balogun, and Robinson? — and how do the players handle that dichotomy?

USMNT captain Tim Ream spoke on the reality a bit during a media call on Wednesday afternoon, saying:

“For us, nothing changes. We have to approach this as if it’s the first game. It probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to a lot of people, but as players, we have the opportunity to do something no U.S. team has ever done. Obviously, we’ve already won two games, that’s something that hasn’t happened in 90 something years, but that’s been the conversation. Obviously, there’s yellow card implications that will come into play, but as players we just have to focus on what we’re doing, and that’s going out there and putting on this performance.”

That doesn’t sound like a player who thinks there will be mass adjustments heading into tonight’s match vs Türkiye, but as with anything World Cup related, it could be a smoke screen.

The prevailing wisdom is that there will be at least some rotation; it just makes too much sense. However, how many times will the U.S. have the opportunity at a perfect group? It has to be tantalizing after watching the scenes in Mexico last night. 

There’s a sense of pride in a possible result that does defy game-state logic. However, if the goal is to maximize mentality, to become more “arrogant Americans”, then going for it in tonight’s clash could propel them through favorable matchups in the lead-up to the semifinals. 

Why not U.S.? 

Of course, it could backfire. 

While Türkiye has been inefficient, they have created chances while proving too impatient to fully work the ball into the box. Despite being held scoreless so far, Türkiye actually leads the group in expected goals and expected goal differential. That flies in the face of a U.S. squad that leads the group defensively while also benefitting from clinical finishing and own goals created out of their chaos, crashing the net. 

Türkiye is already eliminated, but there’s a level of personal pride on the line for a group that expected to at the very least be competitive at the top of the group.

For Ream, shutting out Türkiye en route to a perfect Group Stage would pay off all of the work past generations have done to lead to this opportunity. The first St. Louisan to captain the USMNT since 1950 could lead the 2026 edition to a similar vein of history, silky passing remembered in hushed tones during SLU Soccer alumni events. 

“I wish I could always be in the National Team.” Ream reflected, “You need help along the way, people to back you, detractors to make you work harder. And now you’re looking around and wondering: How did I get here? This is living the dream.”

Thanks for reading, I’ll be back tomorrow for the recap as well as a quick look at the other two host nations + Bosnia & Herzegovina’s updated odds.