Paraguay beat Turkey 1-0 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Saturday and kept their World Cup hopes alive despite Miguel Almiron’s historic red card and more than 45 minutes with 10 men. Matias Galarza’s early strike settled the Group D contest as Paraguay survived sustained pressure and knocked Turkey out after their second defeat in two matches.
Almiron stood at the centre of the match long before the final whistle. The Paraguay captain became the first player in World Cup history to receive a straight red card under FIFA’s new rule on deliberately covering the mouth while speaking on the pitch. VAR alerted referee Ivan Barton after a confrontation with Mert Muldur deep into first-half stoppage time, and the review ended with Almiron walking off in tears.
Paraguay had already struck before the chaos arrived. Galarza needed only 64 seconds to break the deadlock after Julio Enciso slipped him the ball outside the box. The midfielder hit his effort cleanly and gave Paraguay a lead they never surrendered.
Turkey controlled the ball for long spells and dominated territory. They held nearly 82 per cent possession during the opening half and finished with 32 attempts. The numbers built pressure, but they did not build goals.
Arda Guler missed an early opening and Mert Muldur hit both crossbar and post from a Hakan Calhanoglu free-kick. Turkey kept launching attacks after the break but drifted into rushed decisions. Their approach turned into repeated shots from difficult positions and Paraguay kept throwing bodies into the way.
Goalkeeper Orlando Gill anchored the resistance. He denied Can Uzun late on and watched Bertug Yildirim fire a rebound wide when Turkey finally carved open the defence.
Turkey entered the match after a 2-0 defeat against Australia and needed points to stay alive. Instead they left with another loss and an early flight home.
