TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A major upset occurred at the San Francisco Bay Stadium in Santa Clara on Saturday, June 20, 2026. Paraguay defeated Turkey in their second match of the Group D stage of the 2026 World Cup. Turkey lost 0-1 to Uruguay after Matias Galarza scored an early goal in the second minute.
Bad luck seems to be shadowing the Crescent-Stars, the nickname for the Turkish team. Hakan Calhanoglu and his teammates dominated Paraguay for most of the match. Turkey controlled nearly 80 percent of the ball movement and launched as many as 33 attacks.
Turkey had six goal-scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, goalkeeper Orlando Gill and the Paraguayan defense were too strong. Adding to the misery, at the end of the first half, Paraguay temporarily lost a player, Miguel Almiron, who received a red card from referee Ivn Arcides Barton Cisneros from El Salvador.
Unfortunately, Paraguayan coach Gustavo Alfaro's strategy of placing ten players in the defensive line rendered all of Turkey's attacks futile. The score remained 0-1 until Barton blew the final whistle. This was met with tears and wails from the entire Turkish team.
The defeat to Paraguay led to Turkey's elimination from the round of 32. This is because in the previous match, Turkey surprisingly lost 0-2 to the Asian representative, Australia. With zero points in two group stage matches, Turkey was placed at the bottom of the Group D standings.
The host, the United States, leads Group D with six points. Meanwhile, Australia and Paraguay follow in the second and third positions with three points each.
Turkey's failure is truly painful. Before participating in the 2026 World Cup, Turkey was considered one of the dark horse teams that could cause an upset. Keep in mind that Turkey's team has been strengthened by several star players, including Real Madrid's striker Arda Guler, Inter Milan's midfielder Hakan Çalhanoglu, and Juventus's striker Kenan Yildiz, among others.
With such a strong squad, Turkey was expected to advance far in this year's World Cup, much like in 2002 when they finished third. At that time, Turkey was reinforced by striker Hakan Sukur, midfielder Emre Belozoglu, and goalkeeper Rustu Recber.
Unfortunately, this success could not be replicated by Turkey under coach Vincenzo Montella. In the last Group D match against the United States, whatever the result, it will not change Turkey's fate.
Read: 2026 World Cup: Brazil Beat Haiti 3-0, Cunha Brace Sends Selecao Top of Group
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