ShareThe first dead rubber contest of the World Cup sees already-eliminated Türkiye take on the co-hosts.By Neel ShelatJust misses no hitsTürkiye’s tally of 62 shots was the highest after the first two rounds of the World Cup — no other team even managed 50 — yet they drew a blank in both games. A big reason behind that was the fact that the majority of their efforts came from outside the box. They also had to go through a lot of traffic for the most part, facing the staunch low blocks of Australia and Paraguay. As a result, less than a quarter of their attempts were on target, while over a third were blocked.Türkiye’s shot map in their last game vs. ParaguayVincenzo Montella’s side undoubtedly have some top-end attacking talent with the likes of Kenan Yıldız and Arda Güler, but their issue in these two games was that they were simply far too static in the final third. Having already been eliminated from the knockouts, they could use this game as an opportunity to try something different tactically.USMNT on a favourable path to the quarter-finalsConvincing wins over Paraguay and Australia have already assured the United States men’s national team (USMNT) of top spot in Group D, and with it, a quite inviting pathway in the initial knockout rounds.Should there be a winner between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar in the Group B decider, the USMNT will face a World Cup knockout debutante in the first round. Thereafter, they are on course to Egypt or Czechia/South Africa in the Round of 16, as things stand.Given the relatively weaker nature of this pathway, most models place the USMNT among the five likeliest teams to reach the quarter-finals, giving them just under a 50% chance. A memorable knockout run on home soil could well be in the offing for the co-hosts.Team newsTürkiye are expected to be fully fit for this game. Yunus Akgün missed a training session earlier in the week due to some slight discomfort, but that shouldn’t keep him out if the coach wishes to call upon him.The USMNT have a couple of injury concerns. Christian Pulisic sat out the win over Australia after picking up a calf issue in the opener. Though he has returned to training, he is unlikely to be risked in this game. Cristian Roldan’s status is also uncertain due to a muscle strain. With nothing to play for in this match, Mauricio Pochettino may well rotate the side and should certainly look to protect the players at risk of a yellow card suspension, namely Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson and Folarin Balogun.PredictionThe second-choice options in the USMNT squad will likely be motivated to show what they’re capable of, so they could make it three wins out of three in the group stage against a dispirited Türkiye.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the World Cup with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.The first dead rubber contest of the World Cup sees already-eliminated Türkiye take on the co-hosts.By Neel ShelatJust misses no hitsTürkiye’s tally of 62 shots was the highest after the first two rounds of the World Cup — no other team even managed 50 — yet they drew a blank in both games. A big reason behind that was the fact that the majority of their efforts came from outside the box. They also had to go through a lot of traffic for the most part, facing the staunch low blocks of Australia and Paraguay. As a result, less than a quarter of their attempts were on target, while over a third were blocked.Türkiye’s shot map in their last game vs. ParaguayVincenzo Montella’s side undoubtedly have some top-end attacking talent with the likes of Kenan Yıldız and Arda Güler, but their issue in these two games was that they were simply far too static in the final third. Having already been eliminated from the knockouts, they could use this game as an opportunity to try something different tactically.USMNT on a favourable path to the quarter-finalsConvincing wins over Paraguay and Australia have already assured the United States men’s national team (USMNT) of top spot in Group D, and with it, a quite inviting pathway in the initial knockout rounds.Should there be a winner between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar in the Group B decider, the USMNT will face a World Cup knockout debutante in the first round. Thereafter, they are on course to Egypt or Czechia/South Africa in the Round of 16, as things stand.Given the relatively weaker nature of this pathway, most models place the USMNT among the five likeliest teams to reach the quarter-finals, giving them just under a 50% chance. A memorable knockout run on home soil could well be in the offing for the co-hosts.Team newsTürkiye are expected to be fully fit for this game. Yunus Akgün missed a training session earlier in the week due to some slight discomfort, but that shouldn’t keep him out if the coach wishes to call upon him.The USMNT have a couple of injury concerns. Christian Pulisic sat out the win over Australia after picking up a calf issue in the opener. Though he has returned to training, he is unlikely to be risked in this game. Cristian Roldan’s status is also uncertain due to a muscle strain. With nothing to play for in this match, Mauricio Pochettino may well rotate the side and should certainly look to protect the players at risk of a yellow card suspension, namely Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson and Folarin Balogun.PredictionThe second-choice options in the USMNT squad will likely be motivated to show what they’re capable of, so they could make it three wins out of three in the group stage against a dispirited Türkiye.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the World Cup with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.