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


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

SANTA CLARA, California, ⁠June 19 (Reuters) - 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 ofthe 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.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Toby Davis)

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