Paraguay knocks out Turkey with record 64-second World Cup Goal

Paraguay scored the fastest goal of the 2026 World Cup at 64 seconds, then defended with 10 men to eliminate Turkey 1-0 in a stunning Group D upset on Friday.

The record in the tournament was beaten by Matias Galarza’s rocket from 25 metres because he broke the record of Morocco's Ismael Saibari, who scored after 71 seconds. For Paraguayans, his goal meant that the humiliation caused by a 4-1 defeat from the USA was immediately avenged.

The second half started with the sending-off of Miguel Almirón, which was due to the recent rule of the World Cup according to which a player gets sent off when covering his mouth while verbalising something in confrontation.

The regulation, introduced after discriminatory incidents in club football, was applied for the first time in tournament play when Almiron covered his mouth during an exchange with Turkey's Mert Muldur.

Despite being outnumbered on the numerical front, the tactical formation by the Paraguayan defence was impregnable. The Turkish side had possession of the ball 79% of the time and made 32 attempts at shooting, including shots on goal by Juventus players Kenan Yildiz and Arda Guler of Real Madrid.

The outcome was a repeat of the opening match against Australia, in which more possession had led to no goal at all. This was noted by coach Vincenzo Montella. "I'm sad, but I'm also very proud of my players. They gave everything right up until the final whistle," he said.

Galarza, on loan at Atlanta United from River Plate, reflected on the unlikely victory. "We showed our quality and fighting spirit even with one player down," the 24-year-old said. "God wanted this to happen for Paraguay more than ever before."