7M - Turkiye 0-1 Paraguay: Matias Galarzas early strike condemns Vincenzo Montellas team to early elimination as ten men hold on

Turkiye have been knocked out of the World Cup following a disappointing 1-0 defeat against a ten-man Paraguay team in their Group D meeting.

Vincenzo Montellas squad failed to recover from an extremely early goal scored by Matias Galarza at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. The South American team managed to preserve their lead for the entire second half despite playing at a numerical disadvantage, after Miguel Almiron received a straight red card right before the half-time whistle.

The decisive moment came after just 65 seconds when Julio Enciso provided a clever flick to set up Galarza, who fired a long-range shot into the bottom-right corner. Turkiye pushed hard for an equalizer and came agonizingly close in the 35th minute. Mert Muldur connected with a cross from Hakan Calhanoglu, but his header struck the crossbar and then hit the post.

Turkiyes chances appeared to improve during first-half injury time. Following a VAR review, Almiron was sent off with a straight red card for covering his mouth while talking to Muldur. Galarza, the goalscorer, was later forced off on a stretcher during second-half injury time.

Despite controlling possession throughout the second half, Turkiye struggled to beat Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill. The keeper kept out a pair of long-range attempts from Merih Demiral and saved a weak header from Deniz Gul. Muldur then directed another header wide from an Abdulkerim Bardakci cross, and Demiral missed a close-range chance over the bar. Late in the game, Gill parried a first-time strike from Can Uzun, with Gul sending the rebound wide, before Demirals final stoppage-time header missed the target.

Turkiye entered the tournament with dark horse expectations but have now joined Haiti in making an early exit. Their primary downfall was a total lack of clinical finishing, mirroring their previous defeat to Australia. Montellas side failed to score a single goal despite launching 32 shots, which accumulated an expected goals (xG) rating of 2.1. In comparison, Paraguay took the victory while holding firm against the odds.

Key figures Calhanoglu and Kenan Yildiz registered six shots each but managed only one combined effort on target. Yildiz and Real Madrids Arda Guler tried to spark the attack by creating four and three opportunities respectively, but they could not salvage their tournament.

Paraguay midfielder Enciso played a fundamental role in the victory after recovering from an injury suffered in a warm-up game against Nicaragua. Along with providing the match-winning assist, the 22-year-old created four chances, completed six out of eight dribbles, and won nine out of 12 duels. Enciso became the youngest Paraguayan player to register two assists in a single World Cup tournament since 1966. He is also just the third player from his country to record an assist in multiple World Cup matches, matching Francisco Arce and Roque Santa Cruz. Additionally, his dribbling tally was the highest by a Paraguayan player in a World Cup game since Miguel Angel Benitez against France in 1998.

Paraguay will now battle Australia for a second-place spot in Group D during their upcoming fixture.