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Türkiye's senior men's national football team crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay in its second Group D match, with Arda Guler apologizing to supporters after the final whistle.
Paraguay went ahead early through Galarza, who scored in the second minute. That goal was enough to decide the match, leaving Türkiye unable to come back into the game despite the time left to respond.
The match was shaped from the beginning by Paraguay's early goal. Türkiye pushed on but could not turn its possession and pressure into an equalizer, and the game finished 1-0.
After the match, Arda Guler said there was not much to say because the team was deeply saddened by the result. He apologized to the Turkish public and said the players felt ashamed.
"We are very sad, we are ashamed. We apologize to all our people," Guler said.
He added that the squad would try to make up for this disappointment in future tournaments, saying he would personally do everything he could to help people forget this result.
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Guler also said the result was not linked to any issue within the squad. According to him, there was no problem with team spirit or friendship among the players.
He said Türkiye simply could not carry out what it wanted on the pitch and failed to score. He also underlined that many players are part of major clubs, making the result even harder to accept.
"This should not have happened. We apologize," he said.
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