NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
In a match between two desperate teams who each lost their first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Paraguay defeated Turkey 1-0 at San Francisco Bay Stadium. With this result, Paraguay kept their hopes of qualifying for the group final against Australia alive.
Meanwhile, Turkey are now disqualified after two difficult to understand group stage matches. Turkey dominated possession and shots every time, but couldn’t even score a goal. In this match, Paraguay had to play the entire second half with only 10 men.
Turkey will now play for pride in their final against the United States while Paraguay take on Australia, with the winner assured of a place in the round of 16.
With this result, the United States won Group D. Here is what I remember:
4. Galarza Strike set the tone
(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
After just 64 seconds, Paraguay took the lead thanks to a superb strike from Matías Galarza, who currently plays for Atlanta United in MLS. Galarza didn’t even enter the game for Paraguay in their opening 4-1 loss to the United States, but head coach Gustavo Alfaro needed to shake things up.
In a match where both teams needed to be aggressive from the start, Galarza set the tone for the entire match with a low shot from outside the box that beat Türkiye goalkeeper Ugurcan Çakir. It was a great play from Galarza as it looked like he was going to make a pass into the box only to look up and see a clear shot which he took. This is the fastest goal scored so far in this World Cup.
From there, he demanded that Türkiye step up and become aggressive with a very high line and relentless pressure. This also sent Paraguay into an even more defensive mindset, and it was Paraguay who then wanted to turn the game into a routine.
This is largely how things continued to unfold. Turkey dominated possession and chances, but again, as they did against Australia, they were unable to generate enough dangerous chances. The closest in the first half was when captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu launched a free kick into the area, which found Mert Müldür, whose header hit the crossbar and then the post on a single shot.
Paraguay were sometimes able to launch counterattacks with long balls that tested Türkiye’s high line, but these changes were rare.
3. Almiron’s red card
(Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images)
One of the most important moments of the match occurred in first-half stoppage time when veteran Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron covered his mouth to say something to Müldür. Immediately afterwards, Müldür addressed the referee to indicate that Almiron had covered his mouth to say something.
This is a new FIFA rule and the players were all informed of it before the tournament. Players were not allowed to say anything to an opposing player while covering their mouth. El Salvador referee Iván Barton then went to the VAR monitor and immediately sent off Almiron. It was a very important night for the Atlanta United players with Galarza’s goal and Almiron’s red card.
This rule is new to many players and fans, but Almiron had no excuse for this incident since all players were informed and his violation was as clear as possible.
Almiron is one of the most experienced players in the Paraguayan squad with 77 caps and years in the Premier League. In a must-win game against a talented opponent, Almiron put his team in a terrible position and a player with such a long history in the game should have known that.
2. Turkey’s ineptitude, Paraguay’s defense
(Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In Turkey’s opening 2-0 defeat to Australia, the statistics were staggering as they highlighted Turkey’s inability to convert possession into dangerous chances.
In this match, Turkey had a 72-28% possession advantage while outshooting Australia 30-9. Türkiye had a 51-18 advantage in touches inside the opponent’s box. Even with these numbers, Türkiye failed to find the back of the net.
Against Paraguay, the statistics were even more unbalanced, especially against an opponent reduced to 10 men.
When this World Cup is over and analysts analyze the highlights of this tournament, Turkey’s offensive ineptitude will certainly be near the peak. It’s hard to find a team that dominated their first two games so much, that had chance after chance (including one half against a 10-man team), that lost both games without scoring a goal.
The statistics were almost hard to believe. 63 shots in two games and no goals.
Coming into this tournament, there was a lot of expectation that Turkey would be able to advance to the round of 16. It was the team’s first appearance in the tournament since 2002, when they finished third. This generation of Turkish players showed great promise but now they are going to come out in a surprising way.
On the other hand, Paraguay’s defense for almost the entire 90 minutes was outstanding. Even before Almiron’s expulsion, Paraguay was being pushed back. But in the second half Paraguay held on thanks to a disciplined approach with committed team defense and a top-notch effort that required a lot of character. Sometimes Paraguay got lucky and sometimes Orlando Gill made a big save.
Paraguay’s World Cup hopes depended entirely on their defensive efforts for almost an entire match. Against all odds, they held on and deserved the victory.
1. Group D Finals
With this result, Turkey is now disqualified from reaching the round of 16. That’s not to say this isn’t a very talented team. Its young players are among the elite. Arda Güler is one of the best young players in the world and 21-year-old Kenan Yildiz has been impressive for Juventus. But it will be a bitter pill and an experience full of lessons to be learned.
Turkey has one more match to play in next week’s World Cup against the United States. This match has no importance in the standings, but it will be interesting to see the pride Türkiye shows in this match. It will be important for his future to play hard and come away with an effort that can restore pride to the team.
Meanwhile, Paraguay and Australia will face off in a dramatic match where the winner will finish second and advance. The loser, for his part, risks going home.
