Türkiye chase first win against Paraguay

In 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D, Türkiye and Paraguay — both beaten in their openers — meet at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Friday. With both seeking their first win of the tournament, the result is crucial for their hopes of advancing.

Türkiye came into Group D, alongside the USMNT and Australia, as favourites. But the Crescent-Stars, back on the world stage after 24 years, suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Australia on Sunday. Paraguay fared even worse, losing 4-1 to the USMNT in their opener. Manager Gustavo Alfaro called the result a "very painful lesson" for a country returning to the World Cup after 16 years.

With both on zero points, there is little margin for error. Another defeat would make an early exit highly likely, so this meeting in California will be played under pressure.

According to SI.com, Türkiye will not wallow in their mistakes and could bounce back with a comfortable win. Despite the result, Vincenzo Montella's side dominated possession and took 30 shots against Australia, lacking only the final product at key moments. It is hard to imagine the same against a team that just conceded four goals — and Türkiye had scored in each of their last eight games before the opener. One magic moment from Arda Güler could break the game open.

Another key stat is Türkiye's "bounce-back gene". Since Euro 2024, Montella's men have followed every defeat with a win; the last time they failed to win back-to-back games was June 2024. Paraguay's attacking issues stand out: La Albirroja have scored just one goal in four of their last six outings. The two nations have met only once before, a goalless friendly in 1995.

For Türkiye, Juventus star Kenan Yıldız is expected to return to the XI. The 21-year-old started on the bench in the opener due to a calf strain, then came on for 45 minutes. He could start on Friday in place of Barış Alper Yılmaz to give the attack a needed spark. Another possible change is Deniz Gül; the 21-year-old forward could replace Kerem Aktürkoğlu, who was ineffective against Australia. For Paraguay, Gustavo Caballero and Ramón Sosa are expected to miss out through injury, while Alexandro Maidana could make his World Cup debut at left back in place of Júnior Alonso.

SI.com predict 2-0 to Türkiye. Refereed by El Salvador's Iván Barton, the individual talent gap is expected to decide the scoreline.

Predicted XIs
Türkiye (4-2-3-1): Çakır; Çelik, Demiral, Bardakcı, Kadıoğlu; Yüksek, Çalhanoğlu; Güler, Kökçü, Yıldız; Gül
Paraguay (4-4-2): Gill; Cáceres, G. Gómez, Alderete, Maidana; D. Gómez, Cubas, Bobadilla, Almirón; Enciso, Sanabria

Source: Sports Illustrated
Image: Sports Illustrated