Their best players might still be many years from their prime but Turkiye’s tenure as one of the coming forces of European football has been quite a lengthy one now as the team participates at the 2026 World Cup. Eventually, their public will expect them to turn up.
Even before Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz were the lodestones of the national team, there was much hype around a young Turkish squad. At Euro 2020, delayed until the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was much talk of Senol Gunes’ side as a dark horse for a deep run. Orkun Kokcu, Kerem Akturkoglu and Merih Demiral were viewed as stars of the future across Europe. The talk was that the generation behind them would be even better.
And yet that team lost all three of its games at Euro 2020 before falling short in what was an extremely tricky group to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. The Netherlands beat them to automatic qualification but Turkiye got past Norway to reach the playoffs where they fell to defeat against Portugal. Euro 2024 represented a form of progress too as Georgia, Czechia and Austria were defeated en route to a quarterfinal defeat against the Dutch.
That’s nothing to be sniffed at for what is still a young team. The relatively limited nature of the opposition is thrown into a slightly different light after their opening defeat to Australia last week. Perhaps a display where Turkiye kept hitting and hoping from range reflects nothing more than youthful indiscretion. Guler in particular could have picked his moments better. The eight shots he took are level with Jonathan David against Qatar for the most in the tournament. The expected goal value of David’s efforts, however, was 1.98 xG. Guler’s were 0.26, none of his eight shots worthy of being labelled a big chance. His team as a whole created just two. Only one of their efforts was worth more than 0.1 xG.
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The criticism of Turkiye’s performance in a football-mad nation has been scathing, such that manager Vincenzo Montella spoke with real concern ahead of Friday’s game against Paraguay.
“They are young guys, so they can suffer in that sort of situation,” he stated. “I think we’ve been pretty firm and harsh at home, and I think over the last few days that certainly had an impact on the players’ morale. They’re men, they’re not robots, not machines. So they have been affected by how overboard some of the reactions have been.”
How much more pronounced that criticism might be with a defeat to Paraguay — so underwhelming in their own loss to the USMNT — does not bear thinking about. If that were to happen and the Americans were to avoid defeat to Australia then Turkiye would crash out of the World Cup after two games and six days. For that reason alone, it rather feels like this game must be the one where this young team comes of age.
How to watch Turkiye vs. Paraguay
Date: Friday, June 19 | Time: 11 p.m. ET
Location: Levi’s Stadium — Santa Clara, Calif.
TV: FS1 (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Turkey +100; Draw +225; Paraguay +260
Keep up with the World Cup standings here!
Turkiye vs. Paraguay predicted starting lineups
Turkey: Ugurcan Cakir; Zeki Celik, Merih Demiral, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Ferdi Kadioglu; Hakan Calhanoglu, Ismail Yuksek; Ara Guler, Orkan Kokcu, Kenan Yildiz; Kerem Akturkoglu
Paraguay: Orlando Gill; Juan Jose Caceres, Gustavo Gomez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso; Diego Gomez, Mauricio, Andres Cubas; Miguel Almiron, Antonio Sanabria, Julio Enciso
Turkiye vs. Paraguay pick, prediction
There is something curiously insubstantial about this Turkiye side that was remorselessly exposed by Australia. They do not play well as favorites. While this game might not go as badly wrong, it may not be a triumph either. Pick: Turkiye 1, Paraguay 1
Check out our World Cup expert predictions.
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Golazo 48 Nations is your all-access destination for the World Cup, with wall-to-wall coverage across the CBS Sports Golazo Network. From the first whistle to the final recap, the entire Golazo crew will guide fans through every moment of the tournament.
Each day begins with Morning Footy, setting the stage with the recent news, storylines, and previews ahead of kickoff. From there, Golazo Matchday and Golazo Matchnight deliver reaction and analysis as the action unfolds. Fans can also tune in for coverage of USMNT matches with the Call It What You Want team, as well as reaction to other marquee matchups.
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