Two sides who lost their opening matches will look to bounce back in San Francisco.
Group D
Saturday, 20 June | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
Kick-off time
11:00 (GMT+8)
The match
Paraguay were handed the daunting task of taking on USA at a hothouse Los Angeles Stadium in their opener, and the South Americans proved no match on the day for the rampant co-hosts. The story was similar for Turkey, as they were picked apart by a Nestory Irankunda-inspired Australia and were consistently repelled by Patrick Beach in the Socceroos’ goal. Victory for either will be crucial to their respective Round-of-32 hopes.
Predicted Turkey XI
Cakir; Celik, Demiral, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Yuksek, Calhanoglu; Guler, Kokcu, Yilmaz; Yildiz
Predicted Paraguay XI
Fernandez; Caceres, G. Gomez, Alderete, Alonso; D. Gomez, Bobadilla, Cubas, Almiron; Enciso, Sanabria
What they said…
“We have big dreams; we have a great responsibility towards our fans, our people, and the boys know this and have always shown it over the last three years since I’ve been here. So, for me, I now care even more for the players after a defeat than after qualifying for the World Cup. But this is my personal view: I’d like this affection to reach them when they need it, not just when they win matches. I can see the team are keen to get back on the pitch, though they’re feeling a bit down. I’ll say it again: they’re human beings, not robots. Please bear with them a little – they’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed. But I’m confident. The aim is to get them to the match as relaxed and at ease as possible, because I think that’s when they’ll perform at their best.” Vincenzo Montella, Turkey coach
San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
Located in the city of Santa Clara, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium is one of the newer venues that will be featured at the global showpiece and will host six World Cup matches, including five group fixtures and one knockout game.
Home to the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers since its opening in 2014, the stadium hosted Super Bowl 60 in February, where Bad Bunny headlined the half-time show with support from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. The venue staged the first match of the Copa America Centenario in June 2016 as Colombia defeated USA, and has also hosted WrestleMania and the 2015 NHL clash between the LA Kings and San Jose Sharks.