On June 14, 2026, Türkiye faced a 2-0 defeat against Australia in their opening World Cup match in Vancouver. This result left Türkiye without points in Group D. Australia's young talent, Nestory Irankunda, opened the scoring with a brilliant goal in the 27th minute. Despite dominating possession, Türkiye struggled to create effective attacks and was limited to long-range shots. Goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir made several crucial saves, but could not prevent Connor Metcalfe's second goal in the 75th minute. Türkiye attempted to apply pressure throughout the match but struggled against Australia's quick counter-attacks. They brought Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz into the game in the second half to boost their attacking strength, but this change did not yield results. Türkiye will need to focus on their critical match against Paraguay next.