SI:AM | USMNT Still in Good Shape for Knockout Stage After Loss to Türkiye

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m going to be pulling so hard for Cabo Verde tonight against Saudi Arabia. Everyone wants to see the Blue Sharks in the knockout stage, right?

In today’s SI:AM:
🇺🇸 U.S. takes it easy
⛹️‍♂️ 2027 NBA draft prospects
⛹️‍♀️ WNBA rookie watch

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That’s why they’re the B team

It’s such a luxury to be able to see your team lose in the final seconds and have your reaction be “Ah, oh well.”

The U.S. men’s national team lost its final World Cup group stage match to Türkiye, 3–2, on a goal by Kaan Ayhan in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

But who cares?

The game had no bearing on the rest of the tournament for the U.S., which had already clinched the top spot in the group after winning its first two games. As a result, manager Mauricio Pochettino selected a starting lineup consisting almost entirely of backups. The only starter who also started the other two matches was midfielder Weston McKennie. Some of the usual starters did come on later in the game as substitutes (like Christian Pulisic, who entered in the 58th minute after missing the game against Australia with a calf injury), but Pochettino clearly coached the game with an eye toward the future. None of the four starters who were at risk of being suspended if they were shown a yellow card (Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson) saw the field.

A win would have given the U.S. its first perfect group stage ever at a men’s World Cup, but Pochettino dismissed the significance of that achievement and set his sights higher.

“Making history is winning the World Cup, not winning three games,” he said.

The U.S. will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the knockout stage on Wednesday. The Americans will be coming off a loss, but thanks to the way Pochettino coached the Türkiye game, they’ll have all their stars available.

History for Marina Mabrey

Unless you follow the WNBA pretty closely, you probably don’t know the name Marina Mabrey. But it’s time to get familiar with her.

Mabrey tied the WNBA single-game scoring record with 53 points for the Tempo in last night’s 125–97 win over the Sparks, matching the mark previously set by A’ja Wilson (in 2023) and Liz Cambage (in ’18). Riquna Williams, who had 51 points in a game in ’13, is the only other player in WNBA history to score at least 50.

Mabrey is a veteran who’s played eight good but hardly exceptional seasons, averaging 13.1 points per game. She was a second-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2019 and was left exposed to the expansion draft this spring by the Sun.

Mabrey is thriving in an expanded role with the Tempo, though, averaging 21.2 points per game. It’s not just the one scoring outburst, either. Before last night’s game, she was averaging 19.4 points per game, still by far the highest of any season in her career. She set a short-lived new career high for points in a game with 37 last week against Connecticut. Mabrey hit nine three-pointers in that game, tying the WNBA single-game record, and matched it again last night.

It was also a historic night for the Tempo, who set a new WNBA single-game team regulation scoring record. The previous record was 123 points, set by the Mercury in 2010.

Mabrey was so locked in that she didn’t realize she was nearing the record until her sister, Michaela, who was sitting courtside, informed her.

“There’s no stat board in our gym,” Mabrey told reporters. “After you get into a state like that, it’s kind of hard to know what you’re really doing, but my teammates made it known, so I knew I was doing something good.”

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Action shot of USMNT World Cup match vs. Turkey — Türkiye won the game, but the United States won the group. | Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated

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Sophia Vesely: Four Key Takeaways From USMNT’s Heartbreaking Yet Meaningless Loss to Türkiye
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The top five…

… things I saw yesterday:
5. Netherlands forward Memphis Depay’s hilariously failed bicycle kick attempt.
4. Marina Mabrey’s Wilt Chamberlain reference after dropping 53.
3. Sebastian Berhalter’s one-touch screamer for the second U.S. goal.
2. Anthony Elanga’s long-range goal to bring Sweden even with Japan. The game finished 1–1, but Sweden has a better chance of advancing to the knockout stage after securing a point with the draw.
1. Bryce Harper’s go-ahead home run for the Phillies in the ninth inning against the Nationals. It was the third straight day that the Phillies took the lead with a homer in the ninth, the first time in MLB history that’s ever happened. (Harper also gestured to the Washington crowd as he rounded the bases in response to the “F--- Bryce Harper” chants that had been directed his way during the game. Harper, though, insists he extended his ring finger, not the middle finger.)

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