Paraguay held on for an unlikely win against Türkiye on Friday night in a result that has significant implications for Türkiye and the USA.
With Paraguay’s win, the U.S. men’s national team has locked up first place in Group D. And 0-2 Türkiye has been guaranteed fourth place in Group D, ensuring it won’t advance to the knockout round, regardless of the results of the final two games of group play.
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USA had already secured its place in the knockout round thanks to a 2-0 win over Australia earlier Friday to improve its record in group play to 2-0. Now, with the No. 1 spot locked up, USA’s Group D finale next Thursday against Türkiye will amount to an exhibition match.
With the Group D win, USA will play in the Round of 32 on July 1 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Its opponent has yet to be determined.
Paraguay and Australia both remain eligible for advancement and will play each other in next Thursday’s other finale in Group D.
Painful loss for Türkiye, which played most of game a man up
Türkiye dominated the ball Friday night and played more than half of the game 11 on 10 following a red card on Paraguay late in the first half. But it couldn’t convert its possession advantage into a goal, and an early Paraguay goal proved to be the difference in the high-stakes game.
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Matías Galarza converted a turnover in Türkiye territory into a goal for Paraguay 1:04 into the game, and nobody scored again.
After the early slip-up, Türkiye immediately took control of the ball and went into halftime with an 81-19% advantage in possession.
It put two shots on goal in the first half and watched its best scoring chance come up excruciatingly short when Mert Müldür’s header off a free kick hit the crossbar and then the right post before bouncing away from the goal.
Türkiye then got a late look at an equalizer from Can Uzun that Paraguay goaltender Orlando Gill turned back. Deniz Gül’s shot off the rebound missed wide left, and Paraguay’s tenuous lead remained intact.
Türkiye finished the game with a 78-22% edge in possession and a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal but couldn’t find the back of the net. Gill finished the game with 5 saves.
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Adding to Türkiye’s pain is that Paraguay played the entire second half and the end of the first a man down.
Türkiye had man advantage after red card
Paraguay’s Miguel Almirón got sent off for a red card late in the first half for covering his mouth while saying something to a Turkish opponent following a scuffle. This invoked the “Vini Jr. Rule” that FIFA issued after a Champions League Match in February in which the Brazilian Real Madrid forward said he was targeted with a racist slur.
Per FIFA, the rule is in place to prevent players from concealing “discriminatory behavior” on the field. Officials didn’t take much time to eject Almirón after reviewing video.
It’s unclear what Almirón said, but that doesn’t matter in the implementation of the rule. And Paraguay played a man down the rest of the way. Unfortunately for Türkiye, it couldn’t take advantage after halftime.
