Guler 'ashamed' after Turkiye's World Cup exit
Real Madrid star Arda Guler said he was "ashamed after Turkiye crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite having 32 shots against 10-man Paraguay in their Group D clash.
Turkiye lost 1-0 to 10-man Paraguay at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, condemning it to bottom spot in Group D after it also lost 2-0 to Australia in its first match of the tournament.
Paraguay went ahead in the second minute, with Matias Galarza's strike timed at 64 seconds, making it the earliest winning goal in FIFA World Cup history.
However, Miguel Almiron was sent off before half-time, becoming the first player to see red for talking to an opponent while covering their mouth.
Turkiye piled on the pressure, but Vincenzo Montella's team could not find an equaliser.
Madrid youngster Guler, who created three chances, did not hold back in criticising Turkiye's performance.
"I will do everything in my power to make this tournament fade into oblivion throughout my career with the national team," he said.
"We play for very important clubs and we should have shown it on the pitch. We didn't manage it. We conceded a goal very early. There isn't much to say.
"We are very sad and we feel ashamed. We apologise to all our people. In the upcoming tournaments we will give the best of ourselves. We play for great teams, and we should have shown it."
Turkiye has had 62 shots without scoring in its two matches so far. That is the most by any team across a two-game span without a goal since records began in 1966.
Montella said: "The team has shown its soul and has fought until the last breath.
"We have to accept the results, which sometimes have no logic. Football is the king of sports for a reason, and sometimes the best team is not always the one that wins, that's sport.
"The easiest thing in the world would be to point at one particular player, but I am not like that. I called up these players because they are the best. Yes, I expected that we could get through the group stage, but in this type of match anything can happen."
Of the past four times a team won a FIFA World Cup match after having a player sent off in the first half, Paraguay is responsible for two of them, also doing so against Slovenia in 2002.
"We can face better teams and more important or prestigious opponents, we respect this, but we are never going to feel underdogs or inferior to any other opponents," Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro said.
"When we won the game when the final whistle was blown, I couldn't believe it.
"Anyway, I told my players that I wanted to see that joy when they look each other in the eyes, and you don't need any words.
"Everything is boiling, your blood, your chests, everything. And I told them that's what I wanted to see. I want that fighting spirit, and even if people think we're dead, we're not dead."
Paraguay takes on the Socceroos in its final group game, with second place up for grabs. United States is now sure of its place at the top of the group after defeating Australia 2-0.
