SANTA CLARA — It took 24 years for the Turks to make it back to the World Cup, but after only their second game in group play, the Crescent Stars became the first team of the tournament to get eliminated.
The death knell came courtesy of first minute goal by Matías Galarza, who pounced on Turkey’s sloppy play out of the back and created a moment of transition at the edge of the box. The 1-0 lead ended up holding for 98 more minutes.
But Paraguay had to suffer.
Miguel Almiron was sent off in the 48th minute for speaking to an opponent while covering his mouth. Few in the stadium knew of the obscure rule — which was introduced by International Football Association Board after Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. accused an opponent of saying racist remarks in February — and were confused as to why Paraguay’s captain was given a red card.
The intention of the rule is to stop potentially racist comments from being hidden from view.
Despite playing down a man for the second half, Gustavo Alfaro’s men stood tall and repelled wave after wave of Turkey’s attack. By the end of the game, Paraguay withstood more than 30 shots and ceded nearly 80% possession.
“Today’s win had nothing to do with tactics or strategy,” Alfaro said. “It’s the players’ credit. They are the ones who deserve credit for this win.”
Paraguay’s narrow victory on Friday erased the bitter taste of losing 4-1 to the U.S. earlier in the tournament.
“That game against the U.S. was more than just a defeat,” Alfaro said. “It was a huge blow to our team… It was like that feeling of being young and losing your oldest toy… that’s how we felt after the first game… We felt everything was going wrong. We were sick.”
The victory over Turkey puts Paraguay level on points with the Australians, whom they will face in Santa Clara next week. Should that match be a draw, both teams can advance to the knockout stages.
Turkey came into the tournament with its most talented team in generations — with players from Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Juventus — but failed to score a goal in more than 180 minutes of soccer. Turkey registered more than 60 shots across both its losses.
“You might lose one game like this every 50 games, but two? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this happen,” said Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella.
The Italian took a defiant tone in his post-game press conference, saying that he was satisfied with his players’ performances despite the disastrous results.
“Football is not logical,” Montella said. “Not every time the team that plays better wins the game.”
The coach was criticized before and after the game by pundits and fans for his squad selection. Young stars Arda Guler and Kenan Yıldız had many moments on the ball, but they lacked a consistent target to pass the ball to in the final third. For the second straight game, Montella opted to play a false nine, which meant the Turks were often found passing side to side without any real threat.
Six foot four striker Deniz Gül was brought on in the 60th minute and immediately got his head onto a cross from Yıldız. But the Paraguayans, down to 10 men, did a good job of breaking up the rhythm of the game by stopping play multiple times either through medical treatment or drawing fouls.
“The easiest thing to do would be to blame one individual, but that’s not how I do business,” Montella said. “I called up the players that I believed in the best.”
“We did everything in our power,” he added. “I think when you give absolutely everything… sometimes football can disappoint you. It’s like life. It’s not always fair.”
