La Albirroja Send Wasteful Turks Home: Türkiye vs Paraguay Group D Recap
- therookiereporters
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
It’s now or never for the two nations that tasted defeat in the first games of the World Cup. On this high-stakes occasion, Türkiye and Paraguay are going up against each other at Levi’s Stadium.
Although the Crescent Stars and La Albirroja finally ended their long wait for a World Cup appearance, they were not welcomed on their return. While Türkiye was unexpectedly crashing into an Aussie wall with 2-0, Paraguay got demolished in the opening game by the co-hosts USA with a 4-1 defeat. In this first-ever competitive face-off between these two nations, the defeated side exits the tournament, so stakes are higher than ever with little room for mistakes. With the Socceroos bowing down against the United States as well, a win here can bring back the victor into the fight for top 2.The Turkish side showed potential against Australia last time, but in addition to their struggles during the opposition counter-attacks, their lack of clinical finishing proved itself costly. In order to prevent the exposed issues in their tactical approach, Vincenzo Montella is rumoured to be making some radical changes in both defensive and attacking positions. Kenan Yildiz, who was an injury doubt in the first game and subbed in the second half, is expected to return to the starting eleven.Meanwhile, the Paraguayans suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat against the USA. Despite having the physicality and counter-attack ability on their side, La Albirroja tend to struggle against teams with high tempo and high possession that use through balls into the back of their defensive line. Much like Australia, they don’t like to have the ball possession, but they don’t seem as good as Aussies in defence. In addition, Paraguay also have two injury doubts, who are not expected to start the crucial game against Türkiye: The versatile attacking midfielder Ramon Sosa and the left-winger Gustavo Caballero. Gustavo Alfaro is rumoured to opt for Alexandro Maidana instead of Júnior Alonso, who had a rough game against the co-hosts.So without further ado, here are the squads that will start the do-or-die match between Türkiye and Paraguay!Türkiye XI: Cakir - Müldür - Demiral - Bardakçı - Kadioglu - Yüksek - Çalhanoğlu - Akgün - Güler - Yıldız - Aktürkoğlu
Paraguay XI: Gill - Cáceres - G. Gómez - Alderete - Alonso - Cubas - Galarza - D. Gómez - Enciso - Almirón - Pitta
First HalfThe game kicks off and it only takes 64 seconds for Paraguay to come up with the opener. Enciso steals a failed pass from the Turkish side and passes to Galarza, who hits a strong shot from distance to the bottom right corner, a very similar finish to Connor Metcalfe’s goal. Türkiye got their first attacking chance with Kerem Aktürkoglu and Arda Güler in the 14th minute, but the Real Madrid playmaker sent Kerem’s pass over the bar. We get to see one of the newest game rules of the World Cup right afterwards, as the Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill fails to use the goal kick on time and Turks receive a corner kick for it. The Crescent Stars continue where they left from the Australia game, as they take over the ball possession and attempt to find a goal. Mostly Kenan Yildiz and Ismail Yüksek take the chances that either bounce back from the Paraguayan defence or go out for a goal kick. Türkiye’s greatest chance in the first half comes in the 35th minute, when right-back Mert Müldür’s header in a set piece play hits both the crossbar and the post to come back to the field.
Only 2 minutes later, Julio Enciso set up Caceres this time, whose strong shot was successfully parried by Ugurcan Cakir. In the closing stages of the first half, FIFA rule book gets another treat for its new rules, as the tensions rise between the teams. Mert Müldür reports Miguel Almirón to the referee, who appears to be communicating with the Turkish right-back, while covering his mouth. After the VAR review, the Paraguayan winger is sent off and becomes the first victim of what some people like to call as “The Prestianni Rule”. With their opponents being a man down, the Crescent Stars increase the pressure on La Albirroja. However, both of Yüksek’s attempts fail to find the target and the first half ends 1-0 for Paraguay.
Second HalfAs the second half starts, the game really piles up on Paraguay’s half, with La Albirroja being with 10-men on the pitch. Turkish centre-back Merih Demiral knocks on their door with 2 strong long-range shots, but both shots end up in Gill’s hands. Then Kadioglu chips the ball inside the Paraguay box to Calhanoglu, who shoots wide over the bar. Paraguay came close to a second goal as well with Enciso, he dribbled past 4 Turkish players, but barely missed the target. With Deniz Gül and Can Uzun coming on in the 60th minute, the Crescent Stars add more physicality and creativity into their attack. However, most of the Turkish shots still don’t manage to find the target. As the time slips away from Türkiye’s hands, they miss 3 very crucial opportunities.
First in the 85th minute, Deniz Gül fails to make the finishing touch in the 6-yard-box, as he gets compromised by Gustavo Gomez. 4 minutes later, Baris Alper Yilmaz makes a run behind Paraguayan defense line to get Orkun Kokcü’s through ball and manages to pass it to the runway of an unmarked Can Uzun. However, the Eintracht Frankfurt attacking-midfielder’s goal attempt is denied once again by Orlando Gill and Porto striker Deniz Gül is already on the offside, despite his failed rebound shot. And last, in the 90+7th minute, Demiral puts his head into Güler’s cross, but the ball goes just wide at the post, as the centre-back sank to the ground with sadness. The final whistle blows and a man down La Albirroja fend off the Crescent Stars to a 1-0 victory.
With this huge win, Paraguay got their first points to equal Australia in the group standings. A draw in the next match against the Socceroos may be enough for both nations to advance into the next round. The goalscorer Matías Galarza picks up the Superior Player of the Match by scoring the only goal of the match. However, Enciso’s work-rate and Gill’s goalkeeping efforts can’t be overlooked in La Albirroja’s crucial victory. Similar to Australia, Paraguay also defended well as a team and they almost didn’t seem like they were missing a player on the pitch. Only 1 precise shot from distance was enough for the Paraguayans with 21% ball possession and solid enough defence to keep Türkiye at bay.On the other hand, Türkiye made a shocking early World Cup exit with their second defeat in the group stage. The Crescent Stars put on a very similar performance to their first defeat against Australia. With 79% ball possession, they locked Paraguay into their own half, but one mistake, one little lack of concentration was enough for their opponents to exploit. Vincenzo Montella’s squad selection once again proved costly, as Yunus Akgün’s constant loss of possession and Kerem Aktürkoglu in the striker role against another physically superior centre-back duo failed their offense. Cáceres and Gustavo Gómez also did a good job on neutralising Kenan Yildiz and Deniz Gül in front, which left Türkiye in a very desperate search for a goal.
In addition to their ineffective finishing, Hakan Calhanoglu and Arda Güler also failed miserably in playmaking and slowed the game too much, against an opponent that struggles under high tempo. The defenders Abdülkerim Bardakci, Mert Müldür and Merih Demiral being able to create more goal threats than the midfielders shows exactly how much the creative midfielders were missing impact in Türkiye’s gameplan. Can Uzun, Mert Müldür and Abdülkerim Bardakci showed valid efforts, despite the defeat, however their fighting spirit wasn't enough to get the Turks at least a draw. 62 shots, only 13 on target, average ball possession around 75% in both games and eliminated without a single goal, the worst finishing performance since the 1966 World Cup…Some say football is a cruel game, but it only gets cruel, when you don’t use the chances that are presented to you, which was exactly the case for the Crescent Stars, who are deservedly returning home early. This Turkish campaign became an important lesson on stats becoming a burden, when you’re not ahead on the scoreboard.
In the end, Paraguay won the high-stakes second game 1-0 against a wasteful Türkiye. La Albirroja will face Australia in their last game of the group stage, with even a point may be enough for them to make it into the Knockout Stages. Meanwhile, the Crescent Stars will be taking on the unbeaten co-hosts USA, in hopes of making a decent exit with their first goal and maybe even first points. We’ll see if the Paraguayans will be able to reach the next round in the world stage they were missing for the last 16 years.
Article written by Emre Albas © Emre Albas 2026
