The loss, the U.S.’s first after earlier wins of 4-1 against Paraguay, and 2-0 against Australia, meant nothing in the group standings, which the U.S. had already topped entering Thursday. Turkey, meanwhile, had already been eliminated.

That luxury afforded coach Mauricio Pochettino to rotate out nine starters to rest his regulars while giving seven players their first minutes of the tournament.

Players cast the experience gained as a positive.

“He didn’t have to change nine to 10 guys, but he does because he believes in us, and that’s what you want as a coach,” midfielder Brendan Aaronson said.

But in a positive sign for the U.S., the game didn’t feature entirely reserves.

In the 58th minute Pulisic returned after missing the previous four halves due to a calf injury he first suffered during training in early June before it was exacerbated in the first game of the tournament.

How far the U.S. can advance may hinge on Pulisic’s playmaking ability. And within only a few minutes, any doubts about his readiness after missing nearly a week of training were ended when one shot bounced off a post in the 63rd minute. In the 77th, he took another shot that went just wide.

“He came on, he was electric as always,” midfielder Brendan Aaronson said.

Berhalter added: “You saw his quality and you saw when he came in the impact he had. He’s our guy.”

The U.S. leaves the group stage with eight goals, the most produced by the men’s national team at any single World Cup. It opened Thursday with a goal by Auston Trusty within two minutes — before conceding two goals before halftime. Players and Pochettino insisted after the match that the team’s momentum from its first two wins hadn’t been slowed.

“I’m not worried whatsoever,” Aaronson said.

The same lineup that played Thursday, particularly defensively, won’t be the same that faces Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We let some moments get away from us but the performances overall were good,” Berhalter said.

Pochettino seemed puzzled by the downcast tone of his post-match press conference.

“I’m happy,” Pochettino said. “Maybe I’m not showing because your questions are a little bit weird. I’m confused, maybe the vibes is like we go home tonight and Turkey stays (in the tournament), no?”

The U.S. has reached the knockout round in three of its last four World Cups, with two exits in the round of 16, and a 2002 run to the quarterfinals that remains the national team’s best performance since finishing third in the first World Cup in 1930.

Should the U.S. beat Bosnia and Herzegovina, it could set up a run where the U.S. wouldn’t need to leave the same time zone for more than a month. The round of 16 would be in Seattle on July 6, and the quarterfinal would be in Los Angeles four days later.

“We were born to play in these moments and you know that’s all you can do is you can’t let the pressure in the situation get to you,” Aaronson said.

“There’s going to be pressure, that’s football. Especially when you’re at the World Cup. But we’re really ready to go, and you know we’re going to take this Bosnia game and do the best we can, and we’re going to be really prepared.”