Ten-man Paraguay survive Turkey siege to win on Galarza strike

Matías Galarza scored inside two minutes and Paraguay defended the rest with ten men after Miguel Almirón's red card, holding off 33 Turkish shots to win 1-0 in the Bay Area. Turkey sit bottom of Group D.

Paraguay produced the great escape of the tournament so far, beating Turkey 1-0 at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area despite playing the entire second half with ten men. Matías Galarza scored the only goal inside two minutes, and from there the Albirroja defended for their lives.

The start could not have gone better for the underdogs. Galarza, who plays his club football just down the road in MLS with Atlanta United, struck in the second minute to silence a Turkey side that came in as favourites. It was the kind of early blow that hands a team a plan: sit deep, stay compact, and make life miserable for the opponent.

Paraguay's task got far harder on the stroke of half time. Miguel Almirón, their most dangerous attacker, was shown a red card in first-half stoppage time on 45+3. Down to ten men with a one-goal lead and a full half to survive, Paraguay walked off at the break facing a siege.

The siege duly came. Turkey poured forward after the restart and laid on a barrage that the numbers struggle to capture. They finished with thirty-three shots, seventy-eight per cent of the ball and twelve corners, and still could not find a way through. Hakan Çalhanoğlu probed from deep and Merih Demiral pushed up from the back, but the final touch kept deserting them.

That it stayed 1-0 was down to a defensive effort that Kenyan fans who love a backs-to-the-wall stand will have adored. Paraguay threw bodies in front of everything, Damián Bobadilla covered every blade of grass in midfield, and the goalkeeper made the saves that mattered when Turkey did break through. Block after block, clearance after clearance, the lead held.

Wamejifunga kama ngome, hawakuruhusu kitu: they locked themselves up like a fortress and let nothing through. This was not pretty, and Paraguay will not care one bit. After a chastening 4-1 defeat to the United States in their opener, three points of this kind are worth their weight in gold.

For Turkey, this was a night to forget. Thirty-three shots and nothing to show for it leaves them bottom of Group D with no points from two games, their World Cup hanging by a thread. Dominance counts for nothing without a finish, and they ran into a wall painted red and white.

The result throws Group D wide open behind the United States. Paraguay climb level with Australia on three points, and their gutsy, undermanned win is exactly the sort of story that makes this tournament. For the wider South American picture, read our South America round-one verdict.