The late match on June 19 between Paraguay and Turkey finished after midnight Kyiv time and did not make the morning digest. Paraguay won 1–0 thanks to the fastest goal of this year's World Cup, while Turkey were eliminated from the tournament ahead of schedule.
Goal in the 65th second: the 2026 World Cup record was broken twice in one day
Matías Galarza opened the scoring 65 seconds after the opening whistle — a shot from outside the penalty area that beat goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır. Notably, earlier that same day, Moroccan Ismail Saibari had set the previous tournament record with a goal in the 71st second against Scotland. Galarza bettered it by six seconds. For context, the all-time World Cup record belongs to Turkey's Hakan Şükür — 11 seconds in 2002.
After the early goal, Galarza received a yellow card for a rough tackle. An even greater challenge came when Miguel Almirón was sent off before half-time for words directed at an opponent. Despite their numerical advantage, Turkey failed to convert any of their 32 attempts and were knocked out of the tournament.
Turkey eliminated, USA win Group D
Turkey's defeat means their early exit: the side are guaranteed to finish fourth in Group D and will not advance to the Round of 32. Paraguay's victory, combined with the USA's earlier win over Australia (2–0 in Seattle), confirmed the Americans as group winners. The United States will play in the Round of 32 on July 1 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Paraguay's goalkeeper and the entire defence withstood Turkey's pressure, with the latter controlling the ball at 79% possession at one point. Galarza called the day one of the best of his life after the match.
June 20 schedule: Germany, Netherlands and more
Today, June 20, four matches are scheduled at the 2026 World Cup. The headline fixture of the day is four-time world champions Germany against Côte d'Ivoire in Toronto (kick-off at 23:00 Kyiv time). In Group F, the Netherlands take on Sweden in Houston (20:00 Kyiv time). A detailed preview of all fixtures will be published in the evening at 18:45.
Photo: Al Jazeera · Editorial (source)
