World Cup 2026: Türkiye gets off to a bumpy start with defeat to Australia

The Turkish national team kicked off their 2026 World Cup campaign with an unexpected defeat as they lost 0:2 to Australia on Sunday night, with coach Vincenzo Montella insisting he was not overly concerned about the result. Although the attacking line led by captain Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz were unable to score. But the Turkish team showed good potential on the field. This match puts Turkey in a difficult situation in Group D as they need to score in their next game against Paraguay to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive. In this game, Australia showed strong play and good defence. Coach Montella said, “We are just getting started. We have time and we will do everything we can to get the results we want,” while defender Merih Demirol said: “We have to win. We are sorry that we were not able to live up to our expectations.” The Turkish team has a bad history in the World Cup. Having previously lost on their debut in both 1954 and 2002, they still have a chance to make amends in the next game. If Paraguay can be defeated Türkiye's next match will be against Paraguay on Saturday. This will determine the fate of their hopes of advancing to the next round. --- ## Related Articles 1. [ਸਕਾਟਲੈਂਡ ਨੇ ਹੈਟੀ ਨੂੰ 1-0 ਨਾਲ ਹਰਾਇਆ, ਕੋਚ ਸਟੀਵ ਕਲਾਰਕ ਨੇ ਖਿਡਾਰੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਪ੍ਰਸ਼ੰਸਾ ਕੀਤੀ](https://khidarikhabran.com/khabran/1-0-2) 2. [Come seguire la Coppa del Mondo senza spoiler?](https://azzurrigoal.com/it/news/come-seguire-la-coppa-del-mondo-senza-spoiler)