FIFA 2026 World Cup: Irankunda makes history as Australia stun Turkey

Nestory Irankunda became Australia’s youngest-ever FIFA World Cup goalscorer as the Socceroos produced one of the early shocks of the FIFA 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Turkey in their Group D opener at BC Place.

Goals in either half from Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe secured a famous win for Tony Popovic’s youthful side, who entered the match as clear underdogs but delivered a disciplined and resilient performance to claim only Australia’s fifth World Cup victory.

The 20-year-old Irankunda opened the scoring with a moment of quality in the first half. Collecting a pass from Paul Okon-Engstler, the former Bayern Munich winger showed excellent control to cut inside before firing a low strike beyond the Turkish goalkeeper.

At 20 years and 125 days old, Irankunda eclipsed Brett Holman’s record as Australia’s youngest World Cup scorer. Holman had previously held the mark after scoring against Ghana at the 2010 World Cup at the age of 26 years and 84 days.

Australia’s victory was built on a standout display from goalkeeper Patrick Beach, who was handed a surprise competitive debut ahead of veteran Mat Ryan. The 22-year-old rose to the occasion with a string of outstanding saves, making eight stops, the most by any goalkeeper at the tournament so far.

Beach’s finest moment came when he brilliantly tipped Abdulkerim Bardakci’s long-range effort onto the post to preserve Australia’s lead. He also denied Arda Guler from a dangerous free-kick and produced another sharp save to keep out Zeki Celik’s close-range attempt in the second half.

Turkey, making their first World Cup appearance since 2002, controlled large spells of possession and created several opportunities but lacked the cutting edge required to break down Australia’s stubborn defence.

The Socceroos sealed the victory when Metcalfe capitalised on a costly Turkish error in midfield before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Australia will next face the hosts, the USA, in Seattle on Friday, while Turkey will look to bounce back against Paraguay in San Francisco on Saturday.