Ten-man Paraguay eliminate Turkey with tense 1-0 win

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Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Turkey v Paraguay - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - June 19, 2026 Paraguay's Matias Galarza scores their first goal REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Turkey v Paraguay - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - June 19, 2026 Paraguay's Matias Galarza celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Turkey v Paraguay - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - June 19, 2026 Paraguay's Matias Galarza celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Turkey v Paraguay - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - June 19, 2026 Paraguay's Miguel Almiron argues with referee Ivan Barton IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Darren Yamashita
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Turkey v Paraguay - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - June 19, 2026 Paraguay fans celebrate after the match REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

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SANTA CLARA, California, June 19 : Ten-man Paraguay eliminated Turkey with a courageous defensive effort to seal a dramatic 1-0 win on Friday after suffering a dismissal before halftime, with the fastest goal of the World Cup proving the difference.

Midfielder Matias Galarza wound up from 25 metres and fired a low rocket home after 64 seconds to eclipse Ismael Saibari's 71-second strike in Morocco's 1-0 win over Scotland conjured hours before.

Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron was given a straight red card in first-half stoppage time for putting his hand over his mouth in a confrontation with Turkey's Mert Muldur, the first to fall foul of the new rule at the tournament. 

It made Paraguay's task that much harder but they weathered wave after wave of Turkey attacks to claim the win in a remarkable turnaround following their opening 4-1 demolition by the United States.

Source: Reuters

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