Australia – Turkey 2–0

Australia Pulls Off a Surprise Win Against Turkey

Turkish young star Arda Güler was unable to really make an impact against Australia

Keystone

Australia pulled off an upset in Vancouver, defeating the favored Turkish team 2-0 in their opening match. This brings one of the dark horses back down to earth with a bump.

Keystone-SDA

14.06.2026, 07:57•14.06.2026, 08:11

Turkey’s first appearance in a World Cup finals since 2002 was supposed to be a day of celebration. But 24 years after that exhilarating tournament, in which the team finished third, the opening match in Vancouver brought a sobering reality check. Despite significantly more possession and shots on goal, the team led by young star Arda Güler and captain Hakan Calhanoglu fell to Australia 0-2.

The match was well summed up by a scene in the 77th minute, when Kerem Aktürkoglu, completely unmarked from seven meters out in a central position, was denied by Patrick Beach, who surprisingly got the nod in goal for the Australians over the experienced Mathew Ryan. Vincenzo Montella’s team recorded 30 shots on goal over 90 minutes. However, they managed little more than a shot off the post by Abdülkerim Bardacki.

The Australians proved far more efficient. Nestory Irankunda capitalized on the very first chance in the 27th minute. The 20-year-old, who plays for Watford in the English Championship and spent six months on loan with Grasshoppers in 2025, outmaneuvered Merih Demiral on a counterattack and calmly slotted the ball home to give Australia a surprising lead. As the Turks pushed for the equalizer in the second half, Connor Metcalfe of St. Pauli sealed the deal with another quick counterattack.

A good omen for Turkey: Twenty-four years ago, they also suffered a defeat in their opening match—back then, they lost 1-2 to eventual World Cup champions Brazil in a memorable game.

Match report and standings:

Australia – Turkey 2–0 (1–0)

Vancouver. – Referee: Valenzuela. – Goals: 27. Irankunda (Okon-Engstler) 1–0. 75. Metcalfe 2–0.

Australia: Beach; Circati, Souttar, Burgess; Italiano (74. Geria), Bos (84. Behich); Metcalfe, O'Neill, Okon-Engstler (84. Irvine), Irankunda (61. Velupillay); Touré (74. Yengi).

Turkey: Çakır; Çelik (81. Müldür), Demiral, Bardakcı, Kadıoğlu; Yüksek (81. Özcan), Çalhanoğlu; Güler, Kökçü (62. Akgün), Yılmaz (46. Yıldız); Aktürkoğlu (85. Gül).

Notes: Yellow card: 86. Akgün.

1. USA 1/3 (4:1). 2. Australia 1/3 (2:0). 3. Turkey 1/0 (0:2). 4. Paraguay 1/0 (1:4).