10 man Paraguay hang on to sent Turkey packing

Group D

Turkey 0-1 Paraguay 

Miguel Almiron became the first player to be sent off for covering his mouth in the World Cup but 10-man Paraguay bravely clung on to boost their last-32 hopes and eliminate Turkey.

Paraguay took the lead after just 64 seconds when midfielder Matias Galarza fired in from outside the area to score the fastest goal so far in this tournament and what turned out to be the match-winner.

Almost from that point onwards, however, it was one-way traffic as Turkey piled forward in search of an equaliser.

Their hopes were boosted when former Newcastle United midfielder Almiron put his hand over his mouth in a confrontation with Turkey defender Mert Muldur during first-half stoppage time.

After a video assistant referee review, Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton brandished a red card – as part of a new rule introduced before the World Cup.

Both sides came into the game on the back of defeats with Paraguay thrashed by hosts USA 4-1 while Australia beat Turkey 2-0 – meaning there was an edge to the meeting with so much on the line, which led to a fiery contest.

Despite their complete dominance, Turkey managed just one shot on target from 12 attempts, while a deflected header from Muldur hit the bar and the post.

Merih Demiral did test Orlando Gill after the break before substitute Deniz Gul wasted a great chance with a close-range header that was straight at the Paraguay goalkeeper.

Can Uzun forced Gill into a fine save late on before Gul somehow turned wide the rebound, although it was likely it would have been ruled out for offside to somewhat spare his blushes.

Turkey had 30 attempts on goal against the Socceroos in their first game and a further 32 here but could not find a way through against the 10 men in the second half and remain goalless in this tournament.

They cannot progress now after two defeats, while Paraguay know if they beat Australia in their final Group D game, then they will be through to the knockout stages.

Vincenzo Montella’s side have failed to score so far at this World Cup despite attempting 62 shots – which, according to Opta, is the most attempts without a goal in any two-match span in the competition on record (since 1966).

Not only did Turkey have a ridiculous amount of chances, they also dominated the ball in both their games.

Against Australia, they had 71.6% possession and against Paraguay it was 78.5%. They were helped in the second game by the fact they were facing 10 men, but they were the dominant team even before Almiron was given his marching orders.

They also had a higher xG than their opponents in both games with 1.33 in the game against Australia, who had 0.77 but scored twice.

Their xG against Paraguay was 2.1 to the South Americans’ 0.32. And they had more than 100 touches in their opponents’ penalty area across the two games.

For 180 minutes they have attacked, entertained – and done almost everything other than score.

The critical eye would point to the fact they had just 13 shots on target across the two games.

Yet it is remarkable, given the share of play they have had, that they have not scored in two games – and are heading home no matter the result against USA next week.