Turkiye and Paraguay have confirmed their starting teams on matchday two of their 2026 World Cup campaigns in Santa Clara on Saturday.
The Crescent-Stars finished third in 2002 but suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Australia in their opener this time around.
La Albirroja also had a result to forget on the first matchday, losing 4-1 against co-hosts the USA.
The USMNT started the latest round of action in Group D by progressing to the last 32 with a 2-0 win over the Socceroos on Friday.
Geliyoruz ❤️🤍 #BizimÇocuklar pic.twitter.com/kNlCrSI4MH
— Türkiye #BizimÇocuklar 🇹🇷 (@MilliTakimlar) June 19, 2026
World Cup 2026: Turkey confirmed team vs Paraguay
Kenan Yildiz missed Turkiye’s defeat to Australia with an unspecified fitness issue but returns this time.
Turkiye starting XI: Ugurcan Cakir, Merih Demiral, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Mert Muldur, Ferdi Kadioglu, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ismail Yuksek, Kerem Akturkoglu, Arda Guler, Kenan Yildiz, Yunus Akgun
Turkiye substitutes: Mert Gunok, Altay Bayindir, Zeki Celik, Caglar Soyuncu, Eren Elmali, Ozan Kabak, Samet Akaydin, Salih Ozcan, Orkun Kokcu, Kaan Ayhan, Deniz Gul, Irfan Can Kahveci, Baris Alper Yilmaz, Oguz Aydin, Can Uzun
World Cup 2026: Paraguay full line up vs Turkey
Gustavo Caballero (muscle) and Ramon Sosa (ankle) had been injury doubts for Paraguay and are on the bench.
Paraguay starting XI: Orlando Gill, Omar Alderete, Juan Jose Caceres, Junior Alonso, Gustavo Gomez, Diego Gomez, Miguel Almiron, Andres Cubas, Matias Galarza, Julio Enciso, Isidro Pitta
Paraguay substitutes: Gatito Fernandez, Gaston Olveira, Gustavo Velazquez, Fabian Balbuena, Jose Canale, Alexandro Maidana, Ramon Sosa, Mauricio, Damian Bobadilla, Braian Ojeda, Gustavo Caballero, Antonio Sanabria, Alejandro Romero Gamarra, Alex Arce, Gabriel Avalos
Where to watch Turkey v Paraguay: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Saturday is at 04:00 BST (23:00 ET on Friday / 20:00 PT on Friday). In the UK, live coverage is on ITV1.
Fans can stream the action via ITV’s website and ITVX app, which is available on a vast variety of devices for viewing on the go.
World Cup 2026: Turkey v Paraguay stats
- This is the first World Cup meeting between these teams, who previously shared a 0-0 draw in Chile in June 1995
- Turkiye have lost nine of their last 13 matches at major tournaments (W4), though they’ve never lost consecutive games at a single World Cup
- They last lost consecutive games in March 2024 – in friendlies against Hungary and Austria – and were last beaten in more than one competitive game in a row in June 2021, losing all three group games at EURO 2020
- The Crescent-Stars’ defeat on matchday one ended their eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W7 D1) and was their first defeat since losing 6-0 at home to Spain in September 2025
- Vincenzo Montella is the second head coach to manage Turkiye at both the EURO finals and this tournament, after Senol Gunes, who guided them to third at the World Cup 2002
- Paraguay have won two of their last 14 World Cup matches against European opposition (D5 L7), although both were on their travels: 3-1 against Slovenia in 2002 and 2-0 against Slovakia in 2010
- They could lose their first two matches at a World Cup tournament for the second time, previously doing so in 2006 when they lost to England and Sweden and were eliminated from the group stage
- Against the USA, Paraguay conceded as many first-half goals as they did across their 16 preceding World Cup matches
- Los Guaranies didn’t concede more than twice in any of their 18 qualifying matches
- Julio Enciso and Mauricio could become the first player to score or assist in both of their first two World Cup appearances for Paraguay since Romerito in 1986 (2 goals)
