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Türkiye's 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign came to an early end after a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay, a result that left head coach Vincenzo Montella facing resignation calls following back-to-back losses in Group D.
Social media users called on both the Turkish Football Federation, known as the TFF, and Vincenzo Montella to resign after Türkiye's World Cup exit.
Sports columnist Serdar Ali Celikler also joined the criticism, saying: "Anyway, we will say arrivederci to Montella."
Football commentator Serhat Akin also directed criticism at the Turkish Football Federation, saying the responsibility went beyond Montella alone. He argued that the federation president had been lashing out at different figures instead of taking responsibility for the situation. Akin said, "You should leave Montella there tonight," adding that the issue should stay with the TFF. His comments added to the growing post-match pressure on both Montella and the federation after Türkiye's World Cup exit.
Commentator Candas Tolga Isik delivered one of the harshest reactions, rejecting attempts to explain the performance through passing accuracy or touches in the opponent's penalty area. He said Türkiye had finished the tournament with zero goals and zero points despite the quality of the squad. Isik argued that the team was going down in history as the worst side of the tournament. He described the outcome as "shameful."
Football commentator Gokhan Dinc also addressed Montella directly, saying the coach could no longer frame the crisis as a single defeat. He said: "The World Cup is over. He says, 'We lost one match.' You lost this one too." Dinc argued that Montella had to be held accountable after Türkiye's exit. He also criticized Montella's remarks on identity, asking who he was to give Turkish people a lesson on being Turkish.
The national team left the tournament after two matches without scoring a goal or collecting a point, having first lost 2-0 to Australia before falling to Paraguay in its second group match.
The decisive moment came in the second minute at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where Matias Galarza scored from outside the box to put Paraguay 1-0 ahead.
Türkiye tried to respond after the early setback, with Arda Guler sending a shot wide following an attack built up by Kerem Akturkoglu on the right side.
Türkiye came closer in the 35th minute when Mert Muldur's effort struck the post, but the chance did not turn into the equalizer the team needed.
Paraguay were reduced to 10 men in first-half stoppage time after Almiron was shown a red card, leaving Türkiye with a numerical advantage for the second half.
Montella made changes after the break, bringing on Baris Alper Yilmaz for Kerem Akturkoglu before later introducing Can Uzun and Deniz Gul in place of Yunus Akgun and Ismail Yuksek.
The pressure around Türkiye's technical area also showed during the second half, when Montella was shown a yellow card in the 63rd minute while his team continued to search for a response.
Türkiye's final major opportunity came in the 89th minute, but Deniz Gul could not turn the chance into a goal as Paraguay held on to their narrow lead.
The final whistle confirmed a 1-0 defeat and sealed Türkiye's exit from the 2026 World Cup, leaving the team with 0 goals and 0 points from two Group D matches.
Montella, speaking to Turkish sports broadcaster TRT Spor after the match, appeared to leave his future open with an emotional post-match statement.
He said he felt Turkish, was hurt by what he described as a system trying to tear everything down after the first defeat, and believed he was "more Turkish than some people trying to create chaos and harm Türkiye."
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