Paraguay defeat Türkiye 1-0, confirming US’ leadership in Group D

Paraguay defeated Türkiye 1-0 in their Group D match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in the US.

Paraguay got a very early lead 64 seconds into the game, with Matias Galarza firing from the distance into the bottom corner, to score the fastest goal of this World Cup so far.

Although Türkiye conceded a very early goal, they gained a dominant control of ball possession and threw wave after wave against Paraguay for the equalizer.

During a scuffle in the last minutes of the first half, Miguel Almiron covered his mouth as he said something to Mert Muldur, resulting in him being sent off with a red card, in accordance with the new FIFA rules that prohibit such actions.

The second half consisted of dominant possession, repeated chances, and increasing offensives by Türkiye. Despite having more than 27 shots, around 80% ball possession and over 600 passes, Türkiye failed to find an equalizer.

As a result of the game, Paraguay rose to third place, while Türkiye sank to the bottom. US confirmed their leadership spot, while Türkiye lost their only chance at advancing to the next round.