U.S. coach Pochettino to rest key players on yellow cards in Türkiye game

LOS ANGELES, June 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said here Wednesday that four players on yellow cards will all be rested in his team's final Group D match against already-eliminated Türkiye on Thursday evening.

Pochettino told a pre-match press conference that midfielder Tyler Adams, forward Folarin Balogun and defenders Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson, who have each been booked once, will sit out the match to avoid missing the round of 32.

He also disclosed that star player Christian Pulisic, who suffered a calf injury against Paraguay, could play a part at some stage.

Despite the squad rotation, Pochettino showed his determination to beat Türkiye and maintain a perfect record. The co-host has beaten Paraguay 4-1 and Australia 2-0 in its first two matches, securing top spot in Group D before facing Türkiye, which has been eliminated after two losses.

"We have achieved what we wanted first of all by qualifying for the next stage but now it is important to compete in the best way because we want to win tomorrow. We have qualified - but we want to win. We want to go to the next stage with three victories," Pochettino noted. Enditem