Photo credit: FIFA
Vancouver, June 13 (IANS) Australia will start their campaign in the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Turkey in the second match of Group D, in which the hosts USA have made a great start, defeating Paraguay by 4-1 in their campaign opener.v
Australia is competing at the global finals for a sixth consecutive edition, while Turkey are making their third appearance and their first since they stormed all the way to the semi-finals at Korea/Japan 2002.
The winners of Group D will progress to a San Francisco Bay Area date with one of the third-place finishers from either Group B, E, F, I, or J. The runners-up are set to face the Group G runners-up in Dallas. Should the third-placed team in Group D qualify as one of the eight best, they will meet either the Group E, Group I, or Group K winners in Boston, New York, New Jersey, or Kansas City, respectively.
Since losing 6–0 to Spain last September, Turkey has won seven of its next eight games. The only blip was a 2–2 draw in the reverse fixture with Spain.
On the other hand, Australia have a wretched record in World Cup opening matches, losing five of six. Australia has also lost more games than any nation at the previous five World Cups. However, they reached the knockout stage in 2022 and would be confident of challenging for another Round-of-32 berth.
How to watch Australia vs Turkey live in India
Live streaming and live telecast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 football matches will be available on the Zee5 platform and app in India. However, A subscription will be needed.
Live telecast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be available on the Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 2, and Unite8 Sports 2 HD TV channels in India.
Key details
Date and kick-off time: Sunday, June 14, 9:30 AM (IST)
Venue: BC Place Stadium, Vancouver
Referee: Jesus Noel Valenzuela Saez
Squads:
Australia
Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Patrick Beach, Paul Izzo.
Defenders: Aziz Behich, Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Jason Geria, Lucas Herrington, Jacob Italiano, Harry Souttar, Kai Trewin.
Midfielders: Cameron Devlin, Jackson Irvine, Connor Metcalfe, Mathew Leckie, Paul Okon-Engstler, Aiden O’Neill.
Forwards: Ajdin Hrustic, Nestory Irankunda, Awer Mabil, Mohamed Toure, Nishan Velupillay, Cristian Volpato, Tete Yengi.
Turkey:
Goalkeepers: Ugurcan Cakir, Altay Bayindir, Berke Ozer.
Defenders: Merih Demiral, Caglar Soyuncu, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Samet Akaydin, Eren Elmali, Mert Muldur, Zeki Celik, Ferdi Kadioglu, Yusuf Akcicek.
Midfielders: Hakan Calhanoglu, Orkun Kokcu, Ismail Yuksek, Salih Ozcan, Okay Yokuslu, Kaan Ayhan, Irfan Can Kahveci, Can Uzun.
Forwards: Kenan Yildiz, Arda Guler, Kerem Akturkoglu, Bariş Alper Yilmaz, Cengiz Under, Semih Kilicsoy, Bertug Yildirim, Deniz Gul.
