Turkey's wasteful World Cup start ends with elimination before final group game

Turkey’s World Cup campaign collapsed on finishing, with the team eliminated before the final group match after a 1-0 loss to Paraguay on Saturday night. Turkey had been one of Euro 2024’s most exciting teams, reaching the quarterfinals with fast, intense football, but at the World Cup the attack produced no goals in its first two matches.

Across those games against Paraguay and Australia, Turkey recorded 0 goals from 62 shots, one of the lowest figures ever tracked and the worst since data collection began in 1966. The team also hit the woodwork once in each match. Despite featuring Real Madrid’s Arda Güler and Juventus’ Kenan Yıldız, Turkey failed to score in either competitive game.

The shot profile helps explain the drought. Sixteen of Turkey’s 32 attempts against Paraguay and 16 of 30 against Australia came from outside the box, an unusually high volume in modern football. Against Paraguay, Turkey completed 260 passes in the opponent’s final third, compared with Paraguay’s 27, and held the ball for an average of 75% of the match, but still failed to create decisive chances.

Turkey also played 45 minutes with a numerical advantage against Paraguay, needing a goal, but could not find one. Their total expected-goals figure over the two matches was 3.48, underscoring the low quality of the chances they generated. After the match, Güler said, “We apologize. We all play for top clubs and need to look better. We did not score in two games, that is not acceptable.”