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Paraguay achieved a dramatic victory against Turkey by 1-0 at the during the second matchday of Group D of the 2026 World Cup, held on Friday, June 19.
The only goal of the match came in the second minute, scored by Matías Galarza, who put the Albirroja ahead with one of the fastest starts of the tournament. Just two minutes later, Galarza himself received a yellow card, in a match that began with maximum intensity.
The match took a dramatic turn just before halftime: Miguel Almirón was sent off with a red card in the 45th minute, leaving Paraguay with ten players for the entire second half.
With one player less, the Albirroja fell back and withstood a historically immense Turkish onslaught. Turkey amassed 79% possession, took 28 shots—five on target—and earned 11 corners, compared to Paraguay's seven shots and no corners.
Despite the overwhelming dominance, the Turks could not find the way to the goal. The Italian coach Vincenzo Montella received a yellow card in the 63rd minute, a reflection of his team's desperation on the bench.
One of the highlights of the match occurred in the 71st minute: the Turkish substitute E. Elmali, who had just entered the field in the 70th minute, received a yellow card just one minute after his arrival.
The match was held in front of 68,827 spectators at Levi's Stadium, with both teams making five substitutions each in an effort to change the score.
With this result, Turkey is mathematically eliminated from the 2026 World Cup with zero points after two defeats: first, they lost 0-2 to Australia in their debut and now they succumbed to Paraguay.
Paraguay, on the other hand, earns three points and climbs to third place in the , although with a goal difference of -2 that complicates their situation. In the first round, the Albirroja had lost 1-4 to the United States.
The group table after the second matchday stands as follows: the United States leads with six points after defeating Australia 2-0 this Saturday and qualifying for the next phase; Australia is second with three points; Paraguay is third with three points; and Turkey, fourth and eliminated, finishes with zero.
Paraguay needs a favorable result in its final match against Australia to hope to qualify as the second in the group or as one of the best third-placed teams in the tournament.
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