Türkiye and Paraguay face off on Friday night with both nations trying to respond to chastening opening World Cup defeats.
Everybody’s favorite dark horse, Türkiye, was convincingly bested by a canny Australia. Despite telling anyone who would listen how much better they were than their opponents, the likes of Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Arda Güler were thwarted by a stubborn rearguard and speedy counterattacking unit.
Paraguay should be able to offer a similarly frustrating template. The South American outfit recorded famous victories over Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina in World Cup qualification but wilted like cardboard in the rain against the U.S. in its opening fixture. It remains to be seen which iteration of Paraguay turns up against Türkiye.
