Turkiye vs Paraguay Preview: Team News & Prediction | FIFA World Cup 2026 | Group Stage
These two sides both succumbed to opening-match defeats and now Turkiye and Paraguay have to bounce back as they face off against each other in Group D in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – ITV / USA – FOX Sports
How to watch online: UK – ITVX / USA – FOX One
Turkiye preview: Frustrated Turks
Vincenzo Montella led Turkiye to UEFA EURO 2024 and they performed well as they reached the quarter-finals, narrowly beaten by the Netherlands. The Turks qualified via the UEFA play-offs, having been drawn in an initial group alongside European champions Spain, and many marked them out as potential ‘dark horses’ with an impressive squad.
Turkiye dictated things in their opener for large parts against Australia in Vancouver but they struggled to really create anything clear-cut as they were reliant on efforts from long distance, and they were punished on the counter-attack with goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe giving the Australians a surprise 2-0 victory.
Paraguay preview: Blown away
Paraguay suffered just two defeats in their final 13 matches in CONMEBOL qualification for FIFA World Cup 2026 after the appointment of Gustavo Alfaro and the South Americans headed into this summer with many believing them to at least be on par with the rest of Group D and potentially even capable of upsetting co-hosts USA in their opening game in Los Angeles.
That, quite emphatically, did not come to fruition as the Paraguayans succumbed to a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Blown away in the first half, with a combination of their own poor play and strong stuff from the Americans, saw them 3-0 down by the break. Mauricio scored a consolation for Paraguay mid-way through the second half before Gio Reyna completed the rout with an excellent strike in second half stoppage-time.
Turkiye team news: Yildiz a doubt again
Further team news will appear here closer to the match after pre-match press conferences...
Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz, off the back of an impressive season in Serie A, is again an injury doubt. He did feature off the bench against Australia but questions have remained about his availability for this one, at least from the start.
Arda Guler and Hakan Calhanoglu did make the starting eleven for their opener after their own fitness issues and they should again star for the Turks.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Cakir; Celik, Demiral, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Calhanoglu, Yuksek; Guler, Kokcu, Yilmaz; Akturkoglu
Unavailable:
Questionable: Yildiz (Fitness)
Paraguay team news: Couple of doubts
Further team news will appear here closer to the match after pre-match press conferences...
Having been blown away early on against the Americans, their solid centre-back pairing of Omar Alderete and Gustavo Gomez will retain their place but left-back Junior Alonso may be replaced by his back-up Alexandro Maidana after being run ragged by Christian Pulisic in the first-half.
Portsmouth midfielder Gustavo Caballero was unavailable in that opening game and he remains a doubt alongside former Nottingham Forest winger Ramon Sosa. Julio Enciso did return to full fitness against the USA and came through unscathed.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Gill; Caceres, G. Gomez, Alderete, Maidana; Bobadilla, Cubas; Almiron, D. Gomez, Enciso; Sanabria
Unavailable:
Questionable: Caballero (Injured), Sosa (Injured)
Turkiye’s top FIFA World Cup Fantasy assets
Ferdi Kadioglu ($4.3m) – Defender
Arda Guler ($7.0m) – Midfielder
Karem Akturkoglu ($6.2m) – Forward
Matchday 2 captain pick: Arda Guler
Set-piece duty
Penalties: Hakan Calhanoglu
Free kicks: Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Guler
Corners: Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Guler
Paraguay’s top FIFA World Cup Fantasy assets
Omar Alderete ($4,1m) – Defender
Julio Enciso ($6.6m) – Midfielder
Miguel Almiron ($6.0m) – Midfielder
Matchday 2 captain pick: Julio Enciso
Set-piece duty
Penalties: Miguel Almiron, Julio Enciso
Free kicks: Miguel Almiron, Julio Enciso
Corners: Diego Gomez, Miguel Almiron
Key stats
- Türkiye bounced back from opening‑match defeats in each of their previous two FIFA World Cup campaigns — beating Korea Republic 7-0 in 1954 and drawing 1-1 with Costa Rica in 2002.
- None of Türkiye’s previous 11 FIFA World Cup matches have finished goalless.
- Paraguay have won only two of their last 14 FIFA World Cup matches against European teams (D5 L7).
- Paraguay have started a FIFA World Cup campaign with two successive defeats only once. That was 2006 when they lost 0-1 against England and Sweden in their opening two games.
Click here for EVEN MORE stats & facts about this fixture!
Turkiye vs Paraguay prediction
Paraguay grew into their game against an impressive USA side. They appeared nervous and, for want of a better word, rattled by the intensity of the co-hosts in the opening exchanges in California. Once settled in the second half, albeit helped by the USA seeking to control things a bit more rather than their gung-ho style from the first half, they did begin to show their quality and had a few chances before eventually scoring on the counter-attack.
Exploiting space will be something they will be able to do here against a Turkish side that are often chaotic and, as a result, enjoyable to watch for the neutral. Both teams scoring would appear a decent bet then, as the Turks once again try to dominate and create attacks against a Paraguay side that do remain dangerous.
Turkiye vs Paraguay betting tip: Both teams to score
