Turkey Started World Cup With Defeat

The Turkey national football team was defeated 2-0 by Australia at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D opening match. The match played at the 54,405-capacity stadium was officiated by Venezuelan referee Jesus Valenzuela. The Turkey national team, which returned to the World Cup after a 24-year gap, could not get the result it wanted in the opening match and left the field with disappointment.

In the opening section of the match, both teams made a balanced start. In the 27th minute, Australia took the lead 1-0 with the goal of Nestory Irankunda who met the ball with Paul Okon-Engstler's assist. The young player provided a great advantage to his team with the goal he scored. In the stoppage time of the first half, equaliser attempts came from Turkey. In the 45+4, Orkun Kokcu sent a dangerous pass from the edge of the penalty area; however, Australia's defence cleared the danger at the last moment. In the same minute, Kerem Akturkoglu tried to search for the equaliser with the shot he used from the edge of the penalty area; his strike was deflected off the opposing defence player. The first half ended with Australia's 1-0 superiority.

Vincenzo Montella started the second half with a change. In the 46th minute, Kenan Yildiz came on for Baris Alper Yilmaz. In the 61st minute, on the Australia side, Tony Popovic brought Adrian Velupillay on for Nestory Irankunda. In the 62nd minute, Montella made his second move; Yunus Akgun came on for Orkun Kokcu. In the 74th minute, Australia made a double change: Tom Yengi came on for Mohamed Toure, and Jamie Geria for Jason Italiano. Right at this time in the 75th minute, Australia doubled the lead. With Connor Metcalfe's goal, the Socceroos caught a 2-0 advantage.

After the second goal, Turkey looked for ways to change the score with changes. In the 81st minute, Montella made two changes at once; Salih Ozcan came on for Ismail Yuksek, and Mert Muldur for Zeki Celik. In the 84th minute, on the Australia side, Aziz Behich came on for Aiden O'Neill, and Jackson Irvine for Paul Okon-Engstler. In the 85th minute, Montella made his last move; Deniz Gul came on for Kerem Akturkoglu. In the 86th minute, Australia's Yunus Akgun received a yellow card for pushing. In the remaining minutes of the match, the Turkey national team could not produce a position to change the score and the match was completed with Australia's 2-0 superiority.

The first half statistics had revealed Australia's game superiority: In expected goals (xG) value, Australia produced 0.59 while Turkey remained at 0.44. Although possession was 69% to 31% in favour of Turkey, despite Turkey's high ball possession, productivity remained insufficient. In total shots, Australia reached 10 and Turkey 4. The number of big chances was recorded as 1 for Australia and 0 for Turkey. In the category of touches in the opposition penalty area, Turkey left Australia's 7 behind with 11. In Group D, after the US beat Paraguay 4-1, Australia won 3 points; the Turkey national team made a zero start. Turkey's next match is against Paraguay on Friday, June 19.

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