In an emotionally-charged encounter in San Francisco, Turkey were sent packing early from the World Cup having fallen to back-to-back defeats, losing 1-0 to steely Paraguay after also suffering at the hands of Australia.
As a result, Turkey, one of the pre-tournament dark horses, join Haiti through the exit door at the earliest possible juncture. They failed to score a single goal despite a combined 62 attempts – the most efforts without scoring in any two-match span in competition history.
Across 180 minutes of underwhelming football, Vincenzo Montella, who was booked on the night, could only watch on as his side squandered chance after chance. Orlando Gill made five saves to deny the likes of Kenan Yildiz, Can Uzun and Deniz Gul. Agonisingly, nothing would stick. They become the second team to suffer elimination.
Paraguay, meanwhile, are very much alive and kicking in Group D. They were forced to play the entirety of the second half with 10 after Miguel Almiron was dismissed just before the break, punished by VAR in a new rule designed to add greater transparency and fairness to the game. Almiron covered his mouth in a confrontation with Mert Muldur, spotted by the video officials.
And after on-field referee Ivan Barton was sent to the screen to review the incident, the outcome was inevitable.
The game’s winner arrived much earlier in the tie, after 65 seconds in fact, as Matias Galarza struck from range to score the tournament’s fastest goal so far. Paraguay were defiant, with only a 22 per cent share of possession but enough defensive nouse to protect their lead with a player less.
Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron was sent off in the second half
Their tournament fate will go down to the final round of group-stage matches, where they face Australia in a straight fight for second spot. Hosts USA are already assured of finishing as Group D winners.
