Australia 2-0 Turkey - Underdog Stuns the Favorite, USA Gets a Surprise
Irankunda and Metcalfe, +420 odds against -145. Socceroos level with USA in Group D. Next match is Friday - and this is no joke anymore.
Turkey arrived in Vancouver as the favorite. Australia came in as the underdog at +420. Final score: 2-0, and Group D after two rounds looks nothing like anyone predicted.
Nestory Irankunda opened the scoring on the 27th - the first Australian goal at this World Cup. In the second half Connor Metcalfe finished it with a clean strike on the 75th. Turkey, with Arda Güler, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and the rest of the squad, never found an answer at BC Place.
Numbers that hurt if you’re a Turkey fan:
- Bookmakers had Turkey at -145, draw around +270, Australia at +420
- This is the Socceroos’ fifth World Cup win ever
- After USA’s 4-1 over Paraguay, Australia is also on 3 points - top of Group D
Paraguay and Turkey - both on zero. Two teams that were supposed to push, already in a hole.
The main story now is different: Australia vs USA on Friday. The tournament hosts just demolished Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi. And now they don’t get a soft opponent - they get the team that already beat the group favorite.
Australia’s coach got the perfect start: three points, confidence, and zero panic at the back. Turkey looked like Vancouver was too far from Istanbul - in football and in mood.
Yesterday the USA still looked like the undisputed kings of the group. This morning Australia quietly pulled up right beside them. World Cup 2026 just started, and Group D is already a mini-tournament on nerves.