Irankunda and Metcalfe Lift Australia Past Turkey 2-0 — Australia Vs Türkiye World Cup 2026

Australia vs türkiye world cup 2026 ended with Australia winning 2-0 in Vancouver, and the scoreline arrived with an unusual lineup behind it. Irankunda scored first and Metcalfe finished it, giving Tony Popovic a result the live reaction described as perhaps the greatest performance and result in Australia’s World Cup history.

Popovic’s Young XI

Australia did it without Mat Ryan, Jackson Irvine or Matt Leckie in the starting XI, and nobody in the side had more than 38 caps. Seven players were aged 24 or under, which turned the match into a test of how far a stripped-down group could hold up under pressure.

It held. The result became more striking because the line-up lacked the familiar senior core and still carried the game through to the finish in Vancouver.

Irankunda Starts, Metcalfe Finishes

Irankunda opened the scoring before Metcalfe sealed the win, and that early edge set the tone for the rest of the night. Australia did not need a flood of chances; it needed the next one to count, and the two goals were enough.

Turkey pushed late, but Australia’s defensive work kept the match under control. At 82 minutes, Australia were described as having defended their opponents to distraction, and that pressure carried into the final minutes.

Beach and Calhanoglu Late

Mathew Beach made a low save from Hakan Calhanoglu’s free-kick at 86 minutes, then Akgun was booked at 87 minutes for hacking down Metcalfe in transition. Those moments came after Irvine and Behich had replaced Bos and Okon-Engstler at 83 minutes, with six minutes of added time signaled at 90+1 minutes.

By 90+6 minutes, two corners had come to nothing and Australia were going to do it. The live reaction called the display “Absolutely staggering.” and “What an astonishing defensive performance this has been. Faultless.”, a finish that matched the result and the age profile of the team that delivered it.