- Recent form: Turkey have won four of their last five matches (L1) in all competitions, beating North Macedonia 4-0 and Venezuela 2-1 in recent weeks. Paraguay have also won three of their last five, but have lost their two most recent games to Morocco and USA. Both teams sit on zero points in Group D, occupying third and fourth place respectively.
Turkish delights could be in store
With national pride and World Cup progression on the line, this should be an interesting fixture between Turkey and Paraguay in Group D 2026, as they look to shake up the group standings. Turkey have been impressive under Vincenzo Montella in recent times, as he has got them playing a proactive, high-tempo, possession-based system that looks to break through the defense.
Turkey
They play a 4-2-3-1 formation, but Montella's tactical acumen has made them aggressive in possession, creating overloads and stretching the play into the half-spaces.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu is the deep-lying playmaker dictating play, while Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız are his attacking outlets. Both have found the net and provided assists since Montella took over, as their fluid system allows their talented creators to operate in the half-spaces and break lines with ease. In addition, the Italian's system allows the two full backs to push up and create a numerical advantage in advanced areas.
Paraguay
Paraguay are the diametric opposite of Turkey, as Gustavo Alfaro has set up his team to be a compact, defense-first team that aims to sit deep, drop into a low block and rely on their set pieces and transition play to make inroads. Alfaro has made Los Guaraníes very tough to break down through the middle, although they have lost their only away fixture so far in this tournament.
Mauricio has scored one goal in one World Cup group match and can be a threat for Paraguay, while Julio Enciso is the creative hub of this team with one assist in the group stages, and three assists across the last five games. The one thing that can allow Paraguay to play at a slightly different pace is Miguel Almirón, who can run at full backs on the counter and stretch the play.
Turkey to outscore Paraguay
This will be a real test of Turkey's ability to unlock a disciplined, deep defensive block and it will also test how resolute Paraguay can be under pressure. We're expecting an exciting game with multiple goals, but it's hard to see Paraguay getting on the scoresheet against a Turkey side who are adept at pressing in numbers.
- Over 2.5 goals is odds-on at 2.17 and Turkey should have enough to get the job done against a Paraguay side who have scored just one goal per-game on average away from home in this World Cup.
- Both teams to score – no is available at 1.84 and it looks a solid play given the odds.
- Turkey to win at 2.1 is a fair price given their status as favourites in this game.
