Çalhanoğlu: "Once again we lost with one shot"

After Türkiye's 1-0 defeat to Paraguay in 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D and their exit from the tournament, captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu made emotional post-match comments and largely blamed the result on misfortune.

Saying it was hard to find words, Çalhanoğlu noted that they themselves had brought the team to the World Cup after 24 years, that they had tried everything across the two matches but could not find a goal. The captain recalled that "we shoot and it doesn't happen, we tried and it doesn't happen — it's just bad luck," noting the opponent scored with their first shot, and apologised to the entire nation.

Saying this could be his last World Cup, the experienced player added that the team is young, has many tournaments ahead, and that the younger players must be supported. He said everyone was sad, that great effort had been put in, and that the tournament was an experience for all.

Çalhanoğlu stressed that, despite the disappointment, they should be proud of how far they had come: "We should be proud of ourselves; we didn't get here easily." Saying elimination is hard to accept and that football can sometimes be cruel, the captain said lessons must be learned, concluding: "Once again we lost the match with a single shot."

Image: Sputnik Türkiye