{"id":2570,"date":"2026-06-20T05:07:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T05:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2570"},"modified":"2026-06-20T05:07:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T05:07:59","slug":"paraguay-beats-turkey-punches-usas-ticket-to-bay-area-knockout-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2570","title":{"rendered":"Paraguay beats Turkey, punches USA\u2019s ticket to Bay Area knockout round"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SANTA CLARA \u2013 The United States\u2019 red-hot national team is headed to the Bay Area for its first knockout stage match.<\/p>\n

Read more SF Giants\u2019 three-game winning streak snapped as bullpen can\u2019t protect slim lead<\/a><\/p>\n

After the beating Australia in Seattle on Friday afternoon, the Americans simply needed Paraguay to draw with Turkey at Levi\u2019s Stadium on Friday night to secure a spot in Santa Clara on July 1 as a group winner.<\/p>\n

Paraguay came through with a 1-0 victory. The U.S. thus clinched Group D with two victories, including a 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in the opener last Friday.<\/p>\n

The Americans play their final group stage match Thursday against Turkey in Inglewood.<\/p>\n

No matter what happens, the U.S. is coming to Santa Clara.<\/p>\n

It took just over one minute for Paraguay to take the lead against Turkey. Matias Galarza took a pass from Julio Enciso and fired a low ball across the grass from just outside the box, rocketing the left-footed shot past the keeper.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Turkish fans sitting right behind the goal sat in stunned silence, holding their lit cigarettes in disbelief as their team\u2019s chances of making it out of the group stage was well on its way of going up in smoke.<\/p>\n

Just as Paraguay had lost its fist game of the group stage, Turkey had also fallen 2-0 to Australia despite dominating possession. A similar script unfolded on Friday night in the South Bay.<\/p>\n

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After going up in the first minute, Paraguay then spent the next 90-plus minutes holding on for dear life.<\/p>\n

With such an early lead, the South Americans decided to play a dangerous game with the talented Turkish.<\/p>\n

They sat in a low block, a solid 4-4-2 with little space between the lines. It gave precious little space for Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz to operate out of, but also constricted Paraguay\u2019s attack as well.<\/p>\n

Read more Valkyries instant analysis: Golden State\u2019s losing streak to Lynx continues in close loss<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead of committing bodies forward in search of a second goal, Paraguay allowed the opponent to enjoy 77% possession. But possession did not translate into a multitude of shot attempts, with Turkey registering only one shot on target the entire half.<\/p>\n

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Their No. 10, Hakan \u00c7alhanoglu, created the squad\u2019s best chance of the half with a nice ball into the box in the 34th minute, but defender Mert M\u00fcld\u00fcr\u2019s header somehow ricocheted off both the top and side posts in rapid succession.<\/p>\n

Paraguay\u2019s defensive mindset was only solidified three minutes into stoppage time when their captain was sent off with a red card.<\/p>\n

Miguel Almiron was seen saying something to Mert M\u00fcld\u00fcr while covering his mouth, and per FIFA\u2019s new regulations, that necessitated an automatic red card.<\/p>\n

A number of Paraguayan supporters responded by whistling with vitriol while several others hurled profanities at the officials.<\/p>\n

The rule was, in part, put in place after Brazil star Vinicius Junior alleged that defender Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth and directed racist statements toward the Black forward.<\/p>\n

In the 58th minute, Turkey drew goalkeeper Orlando Gil out of the box. But after a scramble for the ball, Gil emerged with it clutched in his arms and another Turkey attack stifled.<\/p>\n

Turkey sent wave after wave of attacker upon a besieged Paraguayan defense, but Juan Jose C\u00e1ceres did not bend under immense pressure.<\/p>\n

Read more Letters: Column doesn\u2019t support its overreaching headline<\/a><\/p>\n

Paraguay will finish its group stage play against Australia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paraguay scores in the second minute and holds on for the victory despite playing with only 10 men in the second half.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nParaguay beats Turkey, punches USA\u2019s ticket to Bay Area knockout round - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2570\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paraguay beats Turkey, punches USA\u2019s ticket to Bay Area knockout round - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paraguay scores in the second minute and holds on for the victory despite playing with only 10 men in the second half.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2570\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T05:07:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2570#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2570\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Paraguay beats Turkey, punches USA\u2019s ticket to Bay Area knockout round\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T05:07:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2570\"},\"wordCount\":602,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2570#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/497177e0bba4b46dc475fd572209e920.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2570#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2570\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2570\",\"name\":\"Paraguay beats Turkey, punches USA\u2019s ticket to Bay Area knockout round - 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