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Türkiye will take on Paraguay in its second 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D match in San Jose, California. This will be the national team's 653rd fixture in its 103-year history.
The match kicks off on Friday, June 19, at 11:00 p.m. EDT, which corresponds to 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, in Türkiye.
The fixture comes after Türkiye opened its World Cup campaign with a 2-0 defeat against Australia on June 14. The Paraguay match will give the team its second test in Group D as it looks to carry on in the tournament under Italian coach Vincenzo Montella.
Türkiye has played 652 matches so far, including 363 official games and 289 friendlies. Across those fixtures, the national team has recorded 259 wins, including one by forfeit, along with 151 draws and 242 defeats.
The team has scored 903 goals and conceded 929. It has played 279 matches away from home, 281 in Türkiye and 92 at neutral venues.
Friday's match will be only the second meeting between Türkiye and Paraguay.
The two national teams first faced each other in 1995, when Türkiye, then coached by Fatih Terim, played out a goalless friendly draw against the South American side.
Türkiye has faced teams from 93 countries in its history. Most of those matches have come against European opponents, while only a limited number have been played against teams from the Americas, making the Paraguay game a relatively rare fixture in the national team's record.
The Paraguay match will also be Vincenzo Montella's 35th game in charge of Türkiye.
Since taking over, Montella has led the national team in 34 matches, including 25 official fixtures and nine friendlies. Türkiye has won 20 of those games, drawn five and lost nine, while scoring 61 goals and conceding 43.
His tenure has included Türkiye's EURO 2024 run, the UEFA Nations League matches, the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and the playoff campaign that carried the team into the tournament.
Türkiye's historical record includes one forfeit win, which came against Greece.
The friendly between Türkiye and Greece on Nov. 17, 2015, finished 0-0 at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. Six months later, FIFA awarded Türkiye a 3-0 win after ruling that Greece had fielded an ineligible player.
Another match, Türkiye's 6-1 friendly win over Kosovo on May 21, 2014, is not included in the official count because Kosovo was not a member of UEFA or FIFA at the time.
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