Australia national team wins against Turkey in the opening round

11:15 / 14.06.2026·302·Sport

The historic 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted on the magnificent green pitches across the ocean, continues with intense and dramatic matches. The first round of Group D, watched with great excitement by fans of the beautiful game, has concluded. In the second match of the quartet at the spectacular BC Place stadium in Vancouver, the fierce Australian national team, representing the Asian continent, faced the tricky and skillful European side, Turkey.

In a match where fans from both sides created a hot football atmosphere, the Australian 'Socceroos' displayed a tactically perfect game and secured a confident 2-0 victory.

Goals from Irankunda and Metcalfe lead the 'Socceroos' to victory

The match began with intense attacks and dangerous situations from the opening minutes. In the 27th minute of the first half, Australian football's bright talent Nestory Irankunda broke through the Turkish defense and opened the scoring with a precise strike — 1-0.

No matter how hard stars like Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Arda Güler tried to restore balance for the Turkish national team, Mat Ryan's goal remained untouched. In the 75th minute, experienced Australian Connor Metcalfe finished a beautiful combination with a goal, sealing the final score of the match — 2-0.

You can get acquainted with the starting lineups of the Australian and Turkish national teams and the current standings in the group via the official match report below:

Competition and group status

Teams

Final score

Goal scorers and minutes

Stadium

Result of the first match in the group

2026 World Cup. Group D, Matchday 1

Australia — Turkey

2 : 0

• Irankunda (27')

• Metcalfe (75')

BC Place

(Vancouver)

USA — Paraguay 4:1

(Big win for the hosts)

Starting lineups:

Australia: Ryan, Souttar, Circati, Burgess, Italiano, Irvine, O'Neill, Bos, Irankunda, Toure, Metcalfe.
Turkey: Çakır, Çelik, Bardakçı, Demiral, Kadıoğlu, Yüksek, Çalhanoğlu, Yılmaz, Güler, Kökçü, Aktürkoğlu.

Situation in Group D: Two giants take the lead

Recall that in the opening match of this quartet, fans witnessed a goal-scoring show. One of the tournament hosts, the USA national team, defeated South American side Paraguay 4-1.

After the first round, the USA leads Group D on goal difference, while Australia, having secured a confident victory over Turkey, sits in second place with 3 points. More intense and decisive matches await us.

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