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Australia defeated Türkiye 2-0 in their Group D opener at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on Sunday. It was a tough start for Türkiye in their first FIFA World Cup appearance in 24 years.
Nestory Irankunda scored in the 27th minute after a pass from Paul Okon-Engstler, giving Australia an early lead. Connor Metcalfe added a second goal in the 75th minute to secure the win.
Türkiye head coach Vincenzo Montella made changes at the start of the second half to shift the momentum, bringing on Kenan Yildiz in place of Baris Alper Yilmaz. In the 62nd minute, Yunus Akgun came on to replace Orkun Kokcu.
Despite the alterations, the Turkish side could not find a way through an organized Australian defense.
Ugurcan Cakir was in goal for Türkiye, with Zeki Celik, Merih Demiral, Abdulkerim Bardakci, and Ferdi Kadioglu in defense.
Ismail Yuksek and Hakan Calhanoglu played in central midfield, while Orkun Kokcu took a more advanced spot. Arda Guler, Baris Alper Yilmaz, and Kerem Akturkoglu started up front.
Australia started with Beach in goal, with Circati, Italiano, Bos, and Souttar in defense.
Burgess was also included in the squad. Metcalfe, O'Neill, and Okon-Engstler played in midfield, while Toure and Irankunda led the attack.
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This match was Türkiye’s first World Cup appearance since 2002, when they finished third in South Korea and Japan.
After Sunday’s loss, Türkiye faces a tough challenge in Group D and must recover quickly to stay in the race for the knockout rounds.
The match started at 4 a.m. GMT, which was midnight Eastern Time and 9 p.m. local time on June 13.
Venezuelan referee Jesus Valenzuela officiated, with Jorge Urrego and Tulio Moreno as assistants, and Kevin Ortega from Peru as the fourth official.
Australia head coach Tony Popovic said the result did not surprise his team, even if it surprised others.
"For many people this result may be a surprise, but for our players and us it is not," he said at the post-match press conference.
Popovic said his team's strong defense was a key reason for the result and praised Türkiye for being a constant threat.
He also pointed out that his goalkeeper made some important saves from Türkiye's set pieces.
Türkiye coach Vincenzo Montella admitted his team started slowly but said there is still time to recover in the group stage.
"We are very disappointed. We know we have time in the group stage to correct this, and we can correct it," he said.
Montella pointed out that Türkiye had 78 percent possession and took 30 shots but could not score.
He said Australia's deep defense and physical presence made it hard to break through.
He also praised Kerem Akturkoglu, saying the forward gave his all on the pitch even though he did not score.
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