Australia Turkiye World Cup 2026 Group D turned into one of the biggest upsets of the tournament’s opening weekend. Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored memorable goals to fire Australia to a sensational 2-0 win over Türkiye in Vancouver.
Beach Heroics and Irankunda’s Historic Strike Light Up BC Place
The match also belonged to Patrick Beach, the young goalkeeper handed a shock Socceroos debut, who went on to thwart Arda Guler and Co. The 22-year-old was handed a surprise competitive Socceroos debut in place of the more experienced Mat Ryan, but did not let his side down with a string of impressive stops — eight, the most so far by any keeper in the tournament to frustrate Türkiye, the best coming when he tipped Abdulkerim Bardakci’s long-range strike on to the post.
Watford striker Irankunda became Australia’s youngest World Cup scorer when he showed great skill and composure to finish the opening goal in the 27th minute on the counter, before Metcalfe’s low drive from distance sealed the victory with a quarter of an hour to go.
Türkiye had 30 shots in total and 72 per cent of the possession but were unable to find a way through the Australian defence, who made 55 clearances in the game. Among the Turkish attacking threats was Real Madrid’s Arda Güler, a 21-year-old who was not yet born the last time Türkiye played in the World Cup — their first appearance since 2002.
Group D Shaken Up as Australia Go Level With USA
The result puts Australia level with co-hosts the United States at the top of Group D ahead of the teams going head to head in Seattle on Friday. Australia were playing in their sixth straight World Cup and seventh overall, and this result their fifth ever World Cup victory firmly announced them as serious Group D contenders.
2026 World Cup Group D: USA, Australia, Turkiye, Paraguay Full Preview →
Full highlights available at FIFA.com.
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