{"id":214455,"date":"2026-06-20T06:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T06:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/turkey-exit-world-cup-2026-as-paraguay-edge-win-despite-almiron-red-card-usmnt-win-group-live-updates-reaction-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T06:07:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T06:07:46","slug":"turkey-exit-world-cup-2026-as-paraguay-edge-win-despite-almiron-red-card-usmnt-win-group-live-updates-reaction-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/turkey-exit-world-cup-2026-as-paraguay-edge-win-despite-almiron-red-card-usmnt-win-group-live-updates-reaction-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey exit World Cup 2026 as Paraguay edge win despite Almiron red card, USMNT win group: Live updates, reaction – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A bit more here on Turkey\u2019s limp attacking threat tonight.
That each shot they took was on average worth just 0.05 expected goals (xG) shows how poor the potential threat of those shots was.
As for the average distance of 21.6 yards, that means on average they were taking shots from three yards outside the penalty box.
Crazy \u2014 but equally, Paraguay will want to take some credit for forcing Turkey into shots they should have left. Even with 10 men.
As a reminder, the FIFA rule that saw Paraguay\u2019s Miguel Almiron<\/strong> sent off in first-half stoppage time for covering his mouth during a confrontation, was borne out of an incident in the Champions League in spring.
Brazil and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior alleged that Benfica\u2019s Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him while covering his mouth during a match.
That was brought up by one of our readers when reacting to the decision that saw Almiron sent off tonight.
Here\u2019s more of what you all had to say about tonight\u2019s incident.
Matias Galarza<\/strong>\u2019s goal, which ended up being the difference tonight, was not just the fastest goal at this 2026 World Cup.
Coming after 64 seconds, it was faster that any goal in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar\u2014 and since Denmark\u2019s Zanka scored after 55 seconds against Croatia at Russia 2018.
Now here\u2019s a man who can afford a smile.
He asked to take the criticism from the opening thrashing by the USMNT, rather than it being directed at his players.
Now Gustavo Alfaro<\/strong> can smile at a Paraguay<\/strong> win and a real chance to extend their World Cup into the knockout stage.
With three points in hand, Paraguay have a good chance of making it through to the round of 32 \u2014 either in second spot in Group D or one of the eight third-placed teams with the best group record.
If they defeat Australia next week and become the Group D runners-up, they will face the the Group G runners-up in Dallas on July 3. That would be one of: Belgium, Egypt, Iran or New Zealand. All four drew their opening games.
If Paraguay end up third with a loss or draw against Australia, they would likely face the Group E winner \u2014 which will surely be Germany \u2014 in Boston on June 29.
Recalled to the starting XI after missing the USMNT opener.
Fastest goal of this World Cup so far \u2014 scored after just 64 seconds. Fabulous goal too.
Booked after just four minutes.
And his goal wins the match after Paraguay play for more than a half with 10 men.
He was stretchered off at the end too, but he seems fine on picking up his Player of the Match award.
Quite the day for Matias Galarza<\/strong>.
Paraguay\u2019s Miguel Almiron<\/strong> received the first red card for talking with his mouth covered.
It happened during today\u2019s game, in the first half after a VAR review involving referee Ivan Barton going to the pitch-side monitor.
Play had been stopped for a foul on Paraguay\u2019s Isidro Pitta and as players from both teams gathered around the striker, Almiron appeared to say something to Turkey\u2019s Mert Muldur while covering his mouth with his hand.
The sending-off was the first of its kind after IFAB \u2014 the body which sets the rules of the game \u2014 changed its laws in April to include players covering their mouths in instances of confrontation being punishable with a red card.
That law came in following an incident involving Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior and Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni, during a UEFA Champions League match in February.
There is no indication Almiron said anything abusive.
GO FURTHER
Paraguay\u2019s Miguel Almir\u00f3n gets first-ever red card for covering mouth in situation of confrontation
Less than three hours after they walked dreamily around Lumen Field, saluting a sold-out crowd and basking in a special afternoon, USMNT<\/strong> players were boarding a flight back to Southern California.
They returned to their team hotel in Laguna Niguel at a reasonable hour and after dinner, \u201chonestly,\u201d captain Tim Ream said, \u201cI think we\u2019ll all end up in the players\u2019 lounge, talking about today and watching the final game of the day.\u201d
That game was this one \u2014 and it likely altered how the U.S. will now approach the coming week.
This marks the first time since 2010 in which the USMNT<\/strong> have won their group at the World Cup.
And the first time the USMNT have done so with a match to spare in the group phase.
Historic stuff from Pochettino and company \u2014 who still have Turkey to face in Group D.
Here is what some of our readers had to say on Paraguay\u2019s performance, Turkey\u2019s disappointment and what it means for the USMNT …
It would politely suggest this is a graphic to show how not to attack a goal. At least half of those shots are severely unlikely to go in, however good you are.
Turkey<\/strong>\u2019s attacking plan was broken from the off at this World Cup, and Vincenzo Montella never got close to fixing it.
As you can see from The Athletic<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s Group D<\/strong> forecast, the permutations for the final group matches are simple.
USMNT vs Turkey next week is somewhat meaningless \u2014 at least, as meaningless as a World Cup game can be \u2014 with one side having won the group and the other eliminated.
On the other hand, things are complicated in the other match between Australia<\/strong> and Paraguay<\/strong>.
Second place in the group is ostensibly on the line. But with eight third-place teams also heading into the round of 32, and with both teams preferring a defensive, low-block style, you can\u2019t help but wonder whether each side will play for a draw when they face off on Thursday.
With Turkey\u2019s loss tonight to Paraguay, the United States<\/strong> have won Group D!
The tournament co-hosts have ensured they will play a third-place team back here in Santa Clara, in the round of 32 on July 1.
A perfect end to a glorious day for Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s USMNT, who beat Australia 2-0 in Seattle earlier today.
A lot of tears for Turkey, who have proved it\u2019s not all fun when you qualify for the World Cup.
This will go down as another crushing tournament when so much more was expected.
With Miguel Almiron, the man playing in front of him, sent off in stoppage time of the first half, nobody was under more pressure to step up than Juan Caceres<\/strong>.
And the Paraguay right-back did just that. Until he was taken off in the 81st minute, Caceres answered the call with nine tackles, six clearances, two recoveries and a key interception.
Paraguay desperately needed some luck for this clean sheet with 10 men, yes, but they also needed Caceres\u2019 heroics \u2014 and he delivered big time.
Turkey<\/strong> managed only five shots on target from their 32 efforts, recording just 1.9 xG (expected goals total) \u2014 with a good chunk of that coming in their late chances.
Paraguay<\/strong> scored one of their two shots on target and despite only having 22 per cent possession \u2014 Turkey had 78 per cent \u2014 they took the victory.
The 83 per cent field tilt highlights how dominant Turkey were in terms of ball and territory. But they still came up short against 10 men.
This was a colossal performance from Paraguay<\/strong>, much more like it after their tepid opening defeat to the U.S. Gustavo Gomez<\/strong> heroic in the heart of defence, while Julio Enciso led the line brilliantly and chased every lost cause.
This kind of display is exactly how they qualified for a first World Cup in 16 years \u2013 they beat all of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay with less than 30 per cent of the ball.
The second half in particular, down to 10 men for its entirety, typified the grit \u2013 The Garra Guarani<\/em> \u2013 on which they pride themselves.
GO FURTHER
The Claw of the Guarani says it all for Paraguay, a nation fiercely protective of its identity
Team Stats
TUR
PAR
Game Details<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World CupAdvertisementliveUpdated 4m agoTurkey have exited the 2026 World Cup after a 1-0 defeat against 10-player Paraguay which sees USMNT top the group.Paraguay took the lead two minutes in as midfielder Matias Galarza netted with a powerful low strike from the edge of the box.But MLS star Miguel Almiron became the first ever player to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":214456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-214455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}