Yildiz handed Turkey start against Paraguay

The Juventus attacker gets his chance after appearing from the bench in the opener

FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Turkey v Paraguay - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - June 19, 2026 Turkey's Kenan Yildiz in action with Paraguay's Juan Jose Caceres IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Darren Yamashita

Turkey brought in Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz to their starting lineup on Friday for their World Cup Group D match against Paraguay, who introduced Isidro Pitta into their attack.

● Real Madrid's Arda Guler and Fenerbahce's Kerem Akturkoglu retain their places in the Turkey team.

● Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella gives Yildiz a start for the first time at this World Cup after he came on as a substitute during the 2-0 defeat by Australia.

● Paraguay make two changes to the team that lost 4-1 to the United States, with Pitta leading the attack alongside Julio Enciso and Matias Galarza brought into the midfield.

● Paraguay's English Premier League pairing Diego Gomez and Omar Alderete keep their places in the team.

● Co-hosts the United States beat Australia 2-0 in their earlier Group D match in Seattle on Friday to book their spot in the next round.

Lineups:

Turkey: Ugurcan Cakir, Merih Demiral, Kerem Akturkoglu, Arda Guler, Hakan Calhanoglu, Kenan Yildiz, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Ismail Yuksek, Mert Muldur, Yunus Akgun, Ferdi Kadioglu

Paraguay: Orlando Gill, Omar Alderete, Juan Jose Caceres, Junior Alonso, Diego Gomez, Miguel Almiron, Andres Cubas, Gustavo Gomez, Julio Enciso, Matias Galarza, Isidro Pitta