{"id":26373,"date":"2026-06-25T02:16:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/25\/soccer-u-s-wont-start-players-on-yellow-cards-against-turkey-says-pochettino-whbl-com\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T02:16:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:16:51","slug":"soccer-u-s-wont-start-players-on-yellow-cards-against-turkey-says-pochettino-whbl-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/25\/soccer-u-s-wont-start-players-on-yellow-cards-against-turkey-says-pochettino-whbl-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer-U.S. won\u2019t start players on yellow cards against Turkey, says Pochettino – whbl.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ed White
INGLEWOOD, California, June 24 (Reuters) \u2013 United States coach Mauricio Pochettino said he won\u2019t start any of his already-qualified team\u2019s four players who have yellow cards when they face Turkey in Thursday\u2019s World Cup clash.
The U.S. \u200bhave already guaranteed top spot in Group D, and with Turkey already \u200cout, the match is a dead rubber. However, Pochettino said the players he picks need the hunger to win.
Although he has not made a final decision on whether to play forward Christian Pulisic, whoever he selects must have a desire to \u201ceat the grass,\u201d he told reporters on Wednesday.
Argentine Pochettino has decided \u200cnot \u200bto start with the four players on bookings \u2014 defender \u2060Chris Richards, wing back Antonee Robinson, \u2060midfielder Tyler Adams and forward Folarin Balogun \u2014 which means they are unlikely to feature.
The yellow cards are a problem not just because another booking would see players ruled unavailable, but also because it could cause them to be less aggressive \u200bon the pitch.
\u201cI think that this is a little bit normal and an easy answer, you know, not to play them from the beginning,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cOf course we \u2060are qualified (for the last 32). But for sure \u2060we want to win,\u201d he added.
Pulisic has been managing a calf \u200bmuscle problem and, even though he has been passed fit, Pochettino and the medical staff \u200bmust decide whether to start him or bring him off the bench.
The \u200cstakes in Thursday\u2019s match might not seem that high to an outside observer, but it was clear from both camps on Wednesday that they have\u00a0other reasons to seek a victory.
Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella spoke at length and repeatedly about his side\u2019s belief in their \u2060quality, despite losing both matches so far, and the pain that criticism from some fans and media has\u00a0caused the players.
He sounded like a man with something to prove and Pochettino \u2060also noted that Turkey would \u200cbe determined to get a result.
\u201cIt is an opportunity for \u2060them to play for pride, for their country, for their flag,\u201d \u200bhe said.
The \u200cU.S. come into the match in an unfamiliar position, having \u200bbecome a \u2060national sensation in a country that normally does not prioritise soccer except at a local level.
The U.S. team\u2019s players like Pulisic appear in mainstream television ads and are becoming household names to millions.
Pochettino described the public support seen and felt by the players as being like the difference between \u201cday and night\u201d from the situation before the tournament.
(Reporting by Ed White, \u200bEditing by Ken Ferris)
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By Ed WhiteINGLEWOOD, California, June 24 (Reuters) \u2013 United States coach Mauricio Pochettino said he won\u2019t start any of his already-qualified team\u2019s four players who have yellow cards when they face Turkey in Thursday\u2019s World Cup clash.The U.S. \u200bhave already guaranteed top spot in Group D, and with Turkey already \u200cout, the match is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}