Galarza’s 64-second strike and a red card: 10-man Paraguay knock Turkey out

Paraguay needed something to go right, and it took 64 seconds. Matias Galarza’s early strike, followed by a defiant rearguard with ten men for almost the entire match, carried Paraguay to a 1-0 win over Turkey in Santa Clara overnight that knocked the Turks out of the World Cup.

Galarza settled it before most of the crowd had taken their seats. Inside the second minute he drove a low left-footed shot that went in off the post, the fastest goal of the tournament so far. It edged out Morocco’s Ismael Saibari, who had needed 70 seconds in his own game a few hours earlier.

A red card under the new rule

The night took a strange turn in first-half stoppage time. Miguel Almiron was sent off, not for a tackle, but for covering his mouth while aiming words at Turkey defender Mert Muldur during a scuffle. FIFA brought in a rule before this World Cup that hands an automatic red to any player who deliberately hides his mouth while arguing, the logic being that concealing what you are saying usually means it is worth concealing. Referee Ivan Barton missed it live, but VAR sent him to the monitor, and Almiron walked off in tears. He was the first player dismissed under the rule at a World Cup.

That left Paraguay to play the whole second half a man down, against a side already chasing the game.

Turkey dominated everything but the scoreline

And chase it Turkey did. They finished with 79% of the ball, 32 shots and 12 corners to none, yet only five of those efforts hit the target and a dozen more were blocked by bodies that kept getting in the way. The expected-goals count read heavily in Turkey’s favour, the sort of line that usually ends in a routine win. Instead Vincenzo Montella’s side are going home, beaten in both their group games.

“They gave everything right up until the final whistle,” Montella said afterwards, and effort was never the problem. Turkey created plenty and finished nothing.

Group D comes down to the last day

The win keeps Paraguay alive. They sit on three points alongside Australia, with the United States already through as group winners after their own 2-0 victory over the Australians. Paraguay and Australia now meet on the final matchday in a straight fight for second place, and Paraguay will have to manage it without Almiron, who serves a suspension for the red card.

For a team thumped 4-1 by the USA in their opener, this was a night of grit over polish. They barely had the ball and barely seemed to need it.

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