Turkiye 0-1 Paraguay - 2026 World Cup Match Report and Player Ratings

Turkiye First Team Eliminated from 2026 World Cup after Incredible Ten-Man Paraguay Win

A silly red card for Miguel Almiron was survived by an impenetrable backline as Paraguay held on through heavy pressure from Turkiye to claim a huge win.

The fastest goal scored at the World Cup so far by Matias Galarza in just 64 seconds ended up being the difference maker as the South American side, as Turkiye's World Cup hopes were left in tatters after a win for the USA earlier in the night and their prior defeat to Australia.

Turkiye 0-1 Paraguay As It Happened

To bring you behind the curtain slightly, I had the joy of covering Mexico versus South Korea at 2am last night in what was, quite honestly, one of the worst matches I have ever seen. I was hoping, naturally, for a more energetic start to this even-later fixture, but was left satisifed with Paraguay netting the fastest goal of the tournament so far at just 64 seconds.

A giveaway on the left of the Turkish defence was recycled quickly by the South Americans to the edge of the box with some quick, high-tempo passing in a fast start to the match. A final short lay-off from Julio Enciso on the very edge of the box released winger Matias Galarza into some inviting space, and he took aim at the bottom-right corner with a direct, powerful finish to open the scoring early.

Turkiye would try and re-stamp an authority on the game after the early setback, and came ever so close to netting a leveller on the 35-minute mark through Mert Muldur. A precised free-kick delivery from Hakan Calhanoglu found the right-back nicely in the area, but his header came off of the bar, onto the post and out and away into safety.

Paraguay would shake off the near-miss in an energetic first half, immediately getting onto the attack with another clever passing routine. This time building around the right of their attack, another clever lay-off from Enciso released Juan Caceres into the channel, but Cakir kept out his low drive with a solid save.

And then a true first in the game of football occured, and one of the stupidest things I have laid eyes on - Miguel Almiron became the first player at this World Cup to be sent off for covering his mouth whilst talking. Yes, that was actually a rule put in before the World Cup and yes, it has actually been enforced.

Halftime Score - Turkiye 0-1 Paraguay

Now with a numerical advantage, a Turkish side that had dominated possession and had plenty of shots, but got so few of them on target, would be going right onto the front foot with three quarters of an hour to play against ten men. Centre-back Merih Demiral set the tempo just 60 seconds into the half, taking aim from 35 yards with a longshot that forced Orlando Gill into a save.

Turkiye kept piling on the pressure as we built towards the hour mark with Kenan Yildiz and Calhanoglu missing chances, but the biggest chance of the half came to Strasbourg forward Enciso, who dazzled between a number of Turkish challenges inside the area before, whilst off balance, guiding his eventual effort disappointingly wide of the target.

Immediately later, Yildiz would get another huge chance when carving in from the left wing of the attack. He glided by an absent right-hand side of Paraguay's back line and looked to bend his eventual shot into the bottom-right corner, but didn't generate the neccesary bend on the ball to carry it home.

Paraguay were digging their heels in and then some by this point, with the likes of Gustavo Gomez and Omar Alderete defending valiantly for the leading ten men. Yildiz, meanwhile, continued to pepper the box with high-quality crosses that saw the likes of Yilmaz and Muldur spurn further chances as the game reached the last 20.

Merih Demiral, surprisingly involved in the attacking sense for Turkiye through the game, would find himself as the quintessential "last man you want in that position" with ten to go. Calhanoglu, who played superbly in search of the leveller, found Yilmaz nicely on the right wing who found the centre-back in an advanced position to help the attack. Unfortunately for him, though, he could only send his eventual shot high over the bar.

Turkiye continued to pile on the pressure, and substitute Can Uzun came devilishly close to finding that sought-after leveller from range. Yildiz danced past a pair of challenges before setting him on the edge of the box where he would try and catch Gill out at his near-post, but he could only guide the shot into the side netting.

Cakir would be called into rare action amidst the Turkish dominance soon after that chance, with Junior Alonso flicking a header from a perfect Julio Enciso delivery on goal for the goalkeeper to keep out fantastically, but the flag went up anyway.

Turkiye once again burrowed forward, and came ever so close to finally getting that equaliser as Yilmaz squared a perfect cross central for Deniz Gul, only for Gustavo Gomez to lunge in with a perfect block to divert the ball away from danger.

Once again with minutes left of regular time, Turkiye would fluff a massive chance to score. Yilmaz did superbly to cut away from his marker and set Can Uzun in plenty of space in the area, only for Gill to keep out the shot. It fell kindly for Gul once again on the rebound, but the striker sensationally missed the target from such close range. The flag would have denied him anyway, but it was a rather extraordinary miss.

Demiral had one final, gasping chance at getting a leveller as another cross met his head superbly in the area, but he dragged the eventual effort wide of the mark as the final whistle sounded, marking a massive win for Paraguay and the elimination of Turkiye from the World Cup.

Full-time Score - Turkiye 0-1 Paraguay

Turkiye Player Ratings

• Ugurcan Çakir (6)

• Mert Müldür (7)

• Merih Demiral (6)

• Abdülkerim Bardakci (6)

• Ferdi Kadioglu (6)

• Ismail Yüksek (6)

• Hakan Çalhanoglu (7)

• Arda Güler (5)

• Kenan Yildiz (7)

• Yunus Akgün (6)

• Kerem Aktürkoglu (7)

• Baris Alper Yilmaz (8)

• Can Uzun (5)

• Deniz Gul (4)

• Eren Elmali (5)

• Orkun Kökcü (N/A)

Paraguay Player Ratings

• Orlando Gill (8)

• Juan Cáceres (8)

• Gustavo Gómez (9)

• Omar Alderete (8)

• Júnior Alonso (7)

• Andrés Cubas (7)

• Diego Gómez (7)

• Miguel Almirón (4)

• Matías Galarza (8)

• Isidro Pitta (6)

• Julio Enciso (8)

• Damián Bobadilla (6)

• Gustavo Velázquez (7)

• Alexandro Maidana (6)

• Gabriel Avalos (N/A)

• Jose Canale (N/A)

Man of the Match - Gustavo Gomez

Paraguay's defence, whilst having to play the entire second half with ten men, was absolutely superb this evening and Gustavo Gomez was the rock in the centre.

He showed his threat as a target from set pieces, and threw himself at absolutely everything Turkiye had to offer in attack.

A truly fantastic individual defensive display, but further plaudits have to be reserved for the likes of Julio Enciso, Juan Caceres and Turkish substitute Baris Alper Yilmaz.

Bad Day at the Office - Miguel Almiron

From a footballing perspective, Almiron was decent today in the first half, but that red card was as stupid to receive as the rule is that caused it.

Much was made of the rule that covering your mouth when talking would result in a red card. It seemed an extreme measure to counter a pressing issue in the modern game, but one that seemed so extreme that surely, surely, nobody would be daft enough to break it?

With that being said, well done Almiron. That stupidity will surely make everyone else at this World Cup realise that this stupid rule will actually be enforced this summer.