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Turkey v Paraguay: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026
Key events
4 mins: Just minutes after scoring, Galarza receives the first yellow card of the match after careening into Yunus Akgun.
2 mins: Matias Galarza was brought into the starting XI for Paraguay and it’s paid off immediately. The midfielder picks up a ball and takes a step into space near the top of Turkey’s penalty area before rocketing a low shot into the bottom corner. Incredible opening moments.
GOAL! Paraguay 1-0 Turkey (Galarza 1)
It’s the fastest goal in the World Cup so far!
Kick-off!
Centre referee Ivan Barton toots his whistle and we’re underway.
And for those keen-eyed viewers who have noticed an unusual amount of hot-pink boots across the World Cup so far, including a bunch of players about to make their way out onto the grass for the anthems, here’s a great yarn from Lauren Cochrane about why.
Plenty of fans are flooding into San Fransisco Bay Area Stadium for today’s final match, which is sitting at a gorgeous 19 degrees C (67 degrees F) and clear skies. A perfect evening for football, which hopefully delivers much more focused and effective performances from both sides compared to their opening games.
Meanwhile, Brazil have held onto their 3-0 lead against Haiti to claim top spot in Group C, though it wasn’t as convincing a performance as what many had hoped from the South American giants against a relative minnow of world football. An injury to Raphinha will be a particular worry.
Matheus Cunha found the back of the net twice in the opening half, and Vinicus Jr made it two in two matches, after which Carlo Ancelotti’s side seemed more focussed on conserving energy and seeing out the clock than finding more goals. It is a decision that may come back to haunt them if goal difference is what separates them from Morocco at the top of Group C.
Sam Lewis
Turkey fans will be thrilled to see their two starlets, Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz, starting their first World Cup match together.
Guler, the Real Madrid creative attacking midfielder, was kept largely at bay by Australia’s resolute defence a week ago, but still managed to deliver some sneaky through-balls and find small pockets of space in and around the penalty area. He’s also a free-kick specialist, so Paraguay will need to be careful not to give away too many fouls outside their own area.
Yildiz, meanwhile, made an immediate impact when he came on in the second half against the Socceroos. The Juventus winger added a new dimension to Turkey’s otherwise-muted left-sided attack, isn’t afraid to take on defenders one v one, and delivers some pin-point crosses and cut-backs for teammates to run onto.
With Guler moved into central midfield and Yunus Akgun brought onto the right side, the connection the two 21-year-olds can make could be the difference today.
Sam Lewis
A surprise start for attacker Isidro Pitta, who was so certain he wouldn’t be called up to Paraguay’s squad for the World Cup that he had already booked a holiday to Spain with his family during the tournament.
Nicknamed ‘Viking’ due to his long hair and big ginger beard, he’s found form at Red Bull Bragantino and is described as “a fighter, a tireless worker and a constant nuisance for opposition defences” in the Guardian’s World Cup player guide.
For more information about him, and plenty more fun and quirky facts about the two starting XIs, check out the guide below.
Paraguay XI
Sam Adams
Paraguay have also shuffled a few things around, making two changes from their 4-1 defeat to the USA last week.
Isidro Pitta replaces Antonio Sanabria to partner Enciso up front, while Matias Galarza comes into midfield in place of Damian Bobadilla. Here’s their squad to start today’s match.
Paraguay XI (4-4-2): 12 Gill; 6 Alonso, 3 Alderete, 15 Gomez, 4 Caceres; 10 Almiron, 23 Galarza, 14 Cubas, 8 Gomez; 25 Pitta, 19 Enciso.
Turkey XI
Sam Lewis
Three changes for Turkey following their defeat to Australia.
Juventus star Kenan Yildiz comes into the starting XI alongside right-back Mert Muldur and winger Yunus Akgun, with Orkan Kokcu, Baris Yilmaz, and Zeki Celik benched. Here’s their line-up.
Turkey (4-2-3-1): 23 Cakir, 18 Muldur, 3 Demiral, 14 Bardakci, 20 Kadioglu, 16 Yuksek, 10 Calhanoglu, 19 Akgun, 8 Guler, 11 Yildiz, 7 Akturkoglu.
Sam Lewis
Elsewhere, Brazil are maintaining a comfortable 3-0 lead over Haiti. If they maintain or extend that, they’ll leapfrog Morocco and sit pretty at the top of Group C.
Check out Jonathan Howcroft’s live updates below as we wait for the Turkey and Paraguay line-ups.
Sam Lewis
There are a few players worth keeping an eye on for both sides today.
Despite struggling to break down a resolute Australian defence, Turkey’s Arda Guler continued chipping away with neat little passes and crosses, and always found small pockets to drift into around the penalty area.
Team-mate and elder statesman Hakan Calhanoglu is Turkey’s midfield engine, while winger Kenan Yildiz made an immediate impact when he came off the bench a week ago.
For Paraguay, Julio Enciso was one of their better performers in their loss to the USA on the first match day, assisting the consolation goal from substitute Mauricio in the second half.
Andres Cubas also did his best to hold Paraguay’s shape through midfield, but was regularly overwhelmed by the USA’s press.
There will be a lot for both sides to improve upon today. Let’s see if they can.
Sam Lewis
Here’s a bit more info about where to watch today’s Turkey v Paraguay match thanks to our friend Graham Ruthven, who sets the scene for us below.
Turkey have a point to prove after a shock opening defeat to Australia. Vincenzo Montella’s side struggled to create against a low block and could run into many of the same problems again if Paraguay are able to keep things tight at the back in the way they weren’t against the USA.
Paraguay were powerless to stop the USA running over them in Los Angeles, but have much more to offer if their qualification campaign is anything to go by. Anything less than a draw would all but end their hopes of making it through to the last 32.
Want more on today’s earlier Group D game between co-hosts USA and Australia? Our team in Seattle has you covered.
Sam Lewis
We’re already starting to see the shape of some other groups as match day two continues at the World Cup.
Mexico became the first nation to secure knock-out football after a 1-0 victory over South Korea in Group A.
Canada and Switzerland both recorded wins in Group B to draw level with each other on 4 points apiece.
Finally, Morocco edged past Scotland 1-0 to move to 4 points in Group C, with Brazil currently taking on Haiti to potentially join them there.
If following every game is simply too much for you, the wonderful fellas at Guardian Football Weekly are recording daily wraps for your pleasure – now also in video format!
Sam Lewis
Looking at the group’s permutations, both Turkey and Paraguay will now have Australia squarely in their sights after the Socceroos lost 2-0 to hosts USA earlier today.
A win for either team today will bring them level on points with Australia (3), though exactly where they’ll end up – second or third – will be decided by goal difference.
The USA are all but through to the round of 32 after their comprehensive win, sailing into their third and final group game on six comfy points. Here’s Alexander Abnos on the match:
As John Denver’s Country Roads blared over the Seattle Stadium PA, they celebrated history: a spot in the knockout round secured with a game to spare, two wins to start a World Cup for the first time since 1930, a big moment for a breakout star in goalscorer Alex Freeman, and the continuation of a journey that US Soccer hope will be transformative for the sport in their country.
“We built the victory in our attitude,” Mauricio Pochettino said. “Today, even if I am not American, after the game I was emotional … To connect with the people is what we wanted.”
Preamble
Sam Lewis
Hello friends and welcome to live coverage of Group D’s second match between Turkey and Paraguay. Kick-off at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium is scheduled for 8:00pm local time (11pm EDT/4am BST/1pm AEST).
Both sides come into this crucial clash having lost their opening matches in rather startling fashion. Turkey, favoured by many to top the group, unexpectedly lost 2-0 to Australia, while Paraguay were picked apart by hosts USA 4-1 a week ago.
Neither team was especially convincing in those losses. Turkey’s dominant possession did not translate into convincing chances, creating an average xG of just 0.04 despite having two of the tournament’s most exciting young attackers in Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz.
Paraguay, meanwhile, were defensively shambolic, allowing the USA to have 53 touches in their own penalty area: the second-most behind Curaçao’s destruction at the hands of Germany. They did pull a goal back from their only shot on target, but that glimmer of hope papered over some much deeper cracks.
As a result, each side will be looking to restore a bit of dignity and repair their negative goal difference as the door to the round of 32 slowly closes in front of them. The loser of this match will almost certainly be sent home.
This is the first high-stakes match between Turkey and Paraguay in their history, with their only other meeting coming in a friendly over a decade ago, so it’ll be a match of discovery for both sides as they try to save a bit of face.
I’ll be back with the line-ups shortly, but in the meantime, what did you think of the opening performances of these two sides? Which result shocked you more? And how do you reckon this one will play out? Send me an email at samantha.lewis.freelance@guardian.co.uk
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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