Somehow, some way, despite losing Miguel Almirón to a red card in first-half stoppage time, Paraguay saw out a 1-0 win over Türkiye in Santa Clara to keep its knockout-stage hopes alive. It secured a first-place finish for the United States in the World Cup’s Group D with one match to spare.
Matías Galarza got La Albirroja off to a dream start in the second minute, but the dream became a nightmare after Almirón was sent off for covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent. Despite Türkiye’s attempts to pull level, the equalizer never came as the loss eliminated the Crescent Stars from knockout stage contention.
Paraguay’s win means the USMNT will wrap up Group D play against Türkiye in Inglewood on Thursday night with its fate already secured. Paraguay, meanwhile, will return to Santa Clara to take on Australia with second place on the line. A win puts Paraguay in the Round of 32 as a second-place team, while dropping points means it will need to await other results to qualify as a third-place team.
In the Round of 32, the U.S. will face the third-place team in either Group B, E, F, I, or J on July 1 at 8 p.m. ET in Santa Clara.
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