Australia stunned Türkiye in Saturday’s World Cup nightcap at Vancouver Stadium, riding a first-half goal by Nestory Irankunda and another by Connor Metcalfe after the intermission to win just the second World Cup match ever played in Canada 2-0 and upend the expected pecking order in Group D.
Here are four quick takeaways from the Socceroos’ surprising yet fully deserved victory.
1. Australia Shows No Fear
(Photo by Sarah Stier – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Coming into Saturday’s match, Türkiye was the obvious favorite. It wasn’t just the bookies who said so, either.
“I think we will dominate the game, because we have more qualities and a more talented team,” Türkiye’s captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu said in an on-camera interview on the eve of the match at the home of the Vancouver Whitecaps. “We’ll see what happens.”
Clearly, most experts agreed with Çalhanoğlu’s assessment. The comment was still an obvious own goal. The Aussies — who narrowly lost to eventual champ Argentina in the last World Cup’s round of 16 — probably didn’t need any extra motivation in their 2026 tournament opener. Çalhanoğlu gave it to them anyway, and Tony Popovic’s team was intent on making him eat those words.
Who cares if the favorites did in fact dominate, badly out-chancing and out-possessing Australia. The latter stunned the Turks with a ruthless counterattack that was expertly finished by Irankunda, forcing the former to take risks going forward in search of the equalizer. It never came. While Türkiye sent its best two chances of the contest straight at keeper Patrick Beach, Australia made no mistake with its opportunities, taking advantage of the space it was afforded to double their lead and seal just its fifth ever World Cup victory on Connor Metcalfe’s strike with about a quarter of an hour left to play.
2. Türkiye’s Captain Eats His Words
(Photo by Ercin Erturk/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The last time the Turks played at a World Cup almost a quarter-century ago, they made a stunning run to the semifinals. Despite missing out on the next five editions, their quality was never in question, with the next generation of the country’s stars led by legitimate all-world talents like Real Madrid’s Arda Güler and Juventus’s Kenan Yıldız. Yet their Italian coach, Vincenzo Montella, raised eyebrows by leaving Yıldız on the bench to begin the match (he entered to start the second half), while Güler was ineffective as far as any end-product was concerned.
Was it simply inexperience? Maybe. Whatever the reason, now Montella’s side has experience of the wrong type, dropping a match considered the most manageable of the three in the group stage. That doesn’t mean the Turks can’t turn this thing around. The forgiving format of this 49-team World Cup means they could advance as a third place finisher. One would expect them to learn from the unexpected defeat and respond next week against Paraguay. They need to, or their first appearance on the global stage in 24 years will end up being a short stay.
3. Keep An Eye On Irankunda
(Photo by Dale MacMillan/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Although he’s not the youngest member of the Aussies’ 26-player World Cup squad — that would be 18-year-old Colorado Rapids defender Lucas Herrington — Irankunda, 20, is undoubtedly their most exciting. Born in Tanzania and a former prospect for German titans Bayern Munich, Irankunda scored 16 goals as a teenager for A-League mainstay Adelaide United before being signed by the perennial Bundesliga champions.
Despite never making a senior appearance for Bayern, English second tier club Watford thought highly enough of Irankunda to ink him to a five-year contract last year. He played in almost 40 Championship matches for the Hornets in his debut campaign in 2025-26, scoring four times. Now he’s a World Cup goalscorer, too. It will be fascinating to see what he can do in the Socceroos final two group games.
4. What’s Next In Group D?
With each of the four teams now has played one time, the table is beginning to take shape. The USA sits first on goal difference following Friday’s 4-1 drubbing of the Paraguayans, with the Aussies now right behind. The two leaders will face off next Friday in Seattle, but the other match is significantly more intriguing following the first round of results.
Türkiye pretty much must beat the Paraguayans on Thursday at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Northern California to maintain their chances of advancing to the knockout stage. The same can be said for the South Americans. That’s the beauty of the World Cup, which just saw its first major upset of 2026.
Australia vs Türkiye Highlights | 2026 FIFA World Cup™
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
