Türkiye eliminated goalless, Montella stays

Eliminated, and no goals to show for it

Türkiye are out of the 2026 World Cup. Paraguay 1–0 on June 19, and that is the group stage done with one match still to play (1). Miguel Almirón scored the winner, then became the first player at this tournament sent off under the new mouth-covering rule, he misses Paraguay's next match (1).

Your team has not scored a single goal at this World Cup. A squad worth 473.7 million euros, with Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız in it, and zero goals across two group matches. That makes Türkiye one of the most valuable sides ever to exit at this stage.

Montella stays. TFF president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu has backed him publicly, and the manager will lead the team into the next cycle.

A dead rubber, and a send-off for the fans

Türkiye face the United States in the final Group D fixture. Nothing riding on it. Expect squad rotation, and a possible World Cup debut for USMNT winger Alex Zendejas. Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal will take charge.

Ahead of that match, Hacıosmanoğlu, Kenan Yıldız, Orkun Kökçü, and Mert Müldür signed autographs for supporters (3). A small gesture after a brutal week.

Fan-reaktioner

The mood is grim. One Reddit post linked a BBC piece grouping Türkiye with Panama and Haiti as teams eliminated without scoring a single goal, and the thread is not kind. The stat stings because the talent was there. Read the discussion here.