Australia began its participation in the 2026 World Cup with an impressive victory, after prevailing 2-0 over Turkey in Vancouver in a match from the first round of Group D, reports BTA. With the success, the Australians tied at the top of the standings with the USA, who earlier defeated Paraguay (4-1). Both teams have three points after their first meetings.
The big heroes for Australia were Nestori Irankunda (pictured) and Connor Metcalfe, who scored in the 27th and 75th minutes respectively. Goalkeeper Patrick Beach, who made his World Cup debut, also made a significant contribution to the success, making several key saves and keeping a clean sheet.
Before the opening goal, Turkey came close to scoring through Arda Guler, but Beach made a decisive save. A little later, Irankunda took advantage of an excellent through pass, stood alone against the goalkeeper and sent the ball into the net for 1:0. Thus, the 20-year-old striker became Australia's youngest ever World Cup scorer.
The Turkish team continued to search for an equalizer, but attempts by Abdulkerim Bardakci and Hakan Calhanoglu failed to produce a result. After the break, Turkey's pressure increased, but Beach again shone with his interventions on a number of shots by Guler, Celik, Calhanoglu and other players of the opponent.
The decisive moment came in the 75th minute, when Metcalfe scored with a precise shot into the bottom right corner for 2:0 and practically ended the intrigue. Until the end, the Turks had several more chances through Zeki Celik, Kerem Akturkoglu and Calhanoglu, but they were unable to find a way to the goal of the inspired Australian goalkeeper. Thus, Australia started their World Cup campaign in an excellent way and took an important step towards the elimination phase.