▲ Paraguay players celebrate.
Paraguay (37th in the FIFA rankings) defeated Türkiye (32nd) despite being a man down due to a "mouth-covering" ejection, boosting its chances of advancing to the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Paraguay beat Türkiye 1-0 in their second Group D match of the World Cup group stage held at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in California, USA, on Saturday (KST).
Paraguay, which suffered a heavy 1-4 defeat against the United States in its first group match on June 13, recorded one win and one loss (3 points), placing third in the group behind the U.S. (2 wins) and Australia (1 win, 1 loss).
With the win, Paraguay tasted victory in the World Cup finals for the first time in 16 years, since its match against Slovakia at the 2010 South Africa tournament.
On the other hand, Türkiye, which suffered a blow against Paraguay following its loss to Australia, has been confirmed to be eliminated from the group stage regardless of the result of its remaining match against the United States.
In its match against Australia, Türkiye dominated the game with 62% possession (Australia's 27%) and attempted 30 shots, but failed to score and lost 0-2.
It succumbed to a similar pattern in the match against Paraguay.
On this day, Türkiye had 31 shots, while Paraguay had only seven.
While Türkiye recorded 65% possession, Paraguay took all three points despite having only 26% possession.
Paraguay's opening goal came right after the start of the match.
Paraguay penetrated Türkiye's right flank, and Matías Galarza received a superb pass from Julio César Enciso in front of the penalty arc and scored with a powerful left-footed shot.
Afterwards, Paraguay pulled back its defensive line to lock down its goal, maintaining its one-goal lead while fending off Türkiye's continuous attacks.
In the 35th minute of the first half, a header by Türkiye's Mert Müldür hit the crossbar and the right post.
Late in the first half, an unexpected ejection occurred.
Paraguay forward Isidro Pitta attempted a rough tackle and then appealed to the referee that his foot was stepped on by an opposing player, leading to a scuffle between players from both teams.
In the midst of this, Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almirón spoke to Türkiye's Müldür while covering his mouth. After reviewing the video assistant referee (VAR) system, the referee confirmed the action and showed Almirón a red card.
Ahead of this World Cup, FIFA introduced a new rule to eject players who cover their mouths while confronting an opponent, in an effort to prevent hate speech, including racism.
This is the first time a player has been sent off under this rule.
Playing with a numerical disadvantage, Paraguay managed the second half with almost all players participating in defense, just as they did in the first half.
Paraguay fended off several decisive scoring threats.
In the 17th minute of the second half, Türkiye's Deniz Gül connected a left-wing cross with a header, but it went straight to the goalkeeper.
Paraguay focused more on wasting time from the mid-second half onward.
Diego Gómez fell during a duel and did not get up, resulting in him being ordered to wait outside the pitch for one minute.
The flow of the game did not change much even after the "cooling break" in the second half.
Paraguay continued to waste time, while Türkiye struggled through a frustrating game.
In the 37th minute of the second half, a right-footed shot by Türkiye's Can Uzun went slightly wide of the left post.
Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill preserved the victory by blocking a decisive shot from Can Uzun in the 44th minute of the second half.
In second-half stoppage time, a header by Türkiye's Merih Demiral went slightly wide of the right post, leaving all Türkiye players holding their heads in despair.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.