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14 hours ago
6
Key events
65 mins: An impatient Demiral winds up and sends a long strike way up into the stands behind Paraguay’s goal. Meanwhile, Gomez is down again with substitute Gustavo Velazquez standing on the sideline ready to replace him.
64 mins: Paraguay had to defend a corner just now with nine players after Gomez spent a minute on the sidelines getting a foot stomp seen to. He’s back on now, and Turkey keep coming.
63 mins: Turkey head coach Vincenzo Montella gets a yellow card after yelling about a foul called against one of his players a moment ago.
62 mins: Huge chance for Turkey! A perfect chipped cross from Yildiz on the left side of the area floats over three Paraguayan defenders and onto the head of substitute Gul, but there’s no power on the header and the ball falls straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.
61 mins: Up the other end, Paraguay’s best hope Enciso receives a fizzing ball in the box and turns to shoot but the ball skims just wide.
60 mins: Two substitutions for Turkey. Yuksek and Akgun are off, replaced by Deniz Gul and Can Uzun.
59 mins: A scramble in the six-yard box! A long-range strike from Turkey’s midfield skims off a Paraguayan head and clangs off goalkeeper Gill. The ball spills into the grass towards a Turkish boot, but two defenders fling themselves to the ground to smother the shot.
56 mins: Calhanoglu floats a sensational cross towards the six-yard area, at exactly the speed and curl needed for a Turkish head to flick on into the gaping net, but there’s nobody there except Yuksek who times his run poorly and watches the ball bounce out for a goal kick.
55 mins: Paraguay counter after a poor pass down the other end, with Enciso picking up the ball near half-way and sprinting all the way into Turkey’s box. He almost clips the ball inside to steady himself for a shot, but a Turkish leg pokes the ball from underneath him and clears it away.
54 mins: Yilmaz is penalised for a strong (but fair, I thought) shoulder-to-shoulder challenge on a Paraguayan defender. The substitute striker turns and holds his arms wide at the referee, wondering how on earth it was a foul. Fair point.
53 mins: Yildiz once again with a nice piece of skill to skip past a Paraguayan defender and fire a cross towards the penalty area, but it’s hoofed wildly away by a hopeful dark blue shin.
50 mins: 10-man Paraguay will have to throw everything of themselves at this second half to maintain their slim 1-0 lead. But they’ve got a furious Turkey side with an extra player to contend with. Enciso is Paraguay’s only advanced player as the rest of his team sits in two deep lines behind the ball, parked in their own penalty area. How long can they keep this up?
49 mins: Kenan Yildiz, who’s been perhaps Turkey’s brightest attacking spark, immediately finds the ball at his feet after the goal kick and tears into the left side of the box, but his shot cracks into the side netting.
48 mins: Turkey win the first corner of the second half as their travelling fans turn up the volume. But Guler’s curling corner is headed away at the near post by Gomez.
One substitute for both teams at the half-time break:
Paraguay striker Pitta has been hooked, replaced by Bobadilla in midfield.
For Turkey, Baris Yilmaz comes on for Akturkoglu.
Now here’s a great trivia fact from Erik:
“Is Almiron the first player to get a yellow for the mistaken identity check AND the first to get a red for covering his mouth?”
Yes, he is!
What does Turkey need to do from here? Their World Cup hangs in the balance of this game, and while they’ve had 72% possession, 12 shots and 5 corners, they haven’t really looked like equalising.
Burt asks: “Are Turkey going to lose again to another smash and grab? Looked possible until the send off.”
First time we’ve seen a direct red card given to a player for covering their mouths during a game, with Paraguay’s talismanic Miguel Almiron sent off.
It’s a new rule introduced to this World Cup to prevent players from making racist and homophobic comments, which they have previously been able to get away with by hiding their mouths under their hands.
As Ted observes: “That looked reflexive from Almiron, perhaps harsh to give him a red but if we’re going to stamp out this behavior then this is what is needed. He certainly won’t do it again.”
Loving the wordplay from Peter here.
“Seeing Almiron sent off for covering his mouth must make Paraguay fans want to cover their eyes.
If Turkey want to live up to their dark horse tag, they had better break into a gallop soon. So far it’s been only stop-and-go trotting here and there.”
My very own horse-girl partner is particularly chuffed with the last one.
Thank you to everyone who has emailed in to clarify Turkey’s future at this World Cup! Steve summarises it best:
“If Turkey lose tonight, they will 100% finish bottom of the group due to the priority of the various group stage tie-breakers. Even if they were to be best the USA in the last game, with 3 points they would be in a tie with either Australia or Paraguay - with both of those teams holding the tie-breaker (I.e., the head-to-head record) over Turkey.”
There’s a bit of afters as the two sides come off the pitch, with the substitutes and staff from both teams coming together near the half-way line. It’s hard to tell who is who as they’re all wearing the same coloured bibs, but the officials and others are holding their arms trying to create distance between shouting and pointing players.
Half-time: Turkey 0-1 Paraguay
Goodness me. What a half.
90+9 mins: A rocket shot from Calhanoglu cracks Gomez right in the head and the Paraguay captain staggers backwards and falls into the grass. The referee whistles play dead and signals for a head injury, but he’s up and moving within moments.
45+7 mins: Turkey continue trying to find spaces and angles down the left side, moving in triangles as they attempt to wrench Paraguay’s tight defence apart. A desperate shot spins wide of the near post as this never-ending half somehow continues.
45+5 mins: One of the final acts of a tense first half is Ismail Yuksek taking two long touches near the top of Paraguay’s penalty area and launching a shot just over the crossbar.
That’s the 7th red card of this World Cup, already almost double the total number from Qatar in 2022.
Red card! (Almiron 45+3 mins)
Paraguay attacker Miguel Almiron earns a straight red card for covering his mouth during the melee moments ago.
45+1 mins: Six minutes of added time but it’s all happening now! Paraguay striker Pitta is taken out near the centre-circle and suddenly players from both sides are crashing together on the pitch, fronting up to one another as tensions continue to flare. The referee does well to control things as both captains try to pull their players away, but Ivan Barton suddenly signals a VAR review for a possible red card.
45 mins: Enciso with a brilliant individual run for Paraguay, picking up the ball near Turkey’s box and dancing around one, two, three defenders. He’s steered towards the right-hand side before clipping a cross back towards the penalty spot, but it’s headed away.
43 mins: For all Turkey’s possessive dominance, the same ghost of the Australian game haunts them. They’ve had 7 shots, but just 1 on target. Paraguay are doing well to shut down those central spaces and force Turkey to find other paths to goal, but at what point do you just put your foot through it and hope for a lucky ricochet?
39 mins: Chaos! Turkey attack right back with Gomez seemingly taking out a Akturkoglu off the ball just as the striker stepped into the penalty area. He slides on his stomach towards the penalty spot, but the referee doesn’t want a bar of it.
38 mins: A yellow card is shown to a member of the Paraguayan coaching staff for an unclear reason.
37 mins: Paraguay race down the other end to try and pounce on Turkey’s overcommitment further up the field. Galarza sprints onto a fizzed cross-field pass down the left before squaring for Enciso, but he’s bundled up by two Turkey defenders and forced backwards. Paraguay recirculate the ball around the top of the area to the right, and the eventual shot clangs off the body of the goalkeeper and is thumped clear.
35 mins: Turkey almost equalise! A super free-kick by Guler is headed by a charging Muldur near the six-yard area, but the ball somehow hits both the crossbar and the near post before bouncing back into play. A Paraguay defender is the first to react and scoops it away.
32 mins: A half-shout for a penalty by Yuksek who drove into the box, but a terrifically-timed tackle by Gomez (I think), which saw the Turkish defender tumble into the grass, is waved away by the referee.
31 mins: Arda Guler stands over yet another free kick, sending a deep curling ball towards the penalty spot. But it’s headed over the crossbar before the referee signals for a Paraguay free kick anyway. Whistles erupt around the stadium after the confusion.
29 mins: We’re back, and I’ve learned in that short break that Paraguay’s goal was faster than Morocco’s goal earlier today by approximately six seconds.
Some emails coming through in the meantime.
Paul asks: “They’re saying that Turkiye are out if this score stays like this. Is that right? Can they not still finish third, and join that lottery for a qualification place? Help an old man out.”
I was similarly confused. Turkey can mathematically still finish third if they defeat the USA on the final match day, but they’d have to do it by quite a margin to overcome the worst goal difference in the group (-3). So practically they may very well be on their way home if the scoreline stays this way.
