Australia vs Turkey Preview

Group D’s second fixture gets underway in the early hours of Sunday morning as Australia and Turkey meet at BC Place in Vancouver. With the United States having faced Paraguay in the group’s opening fixture, both the Socceroos and Türkiye know that anything other than a win here will leave them with a mountain to climb in the remaining group games.

Australia come into this World Cup opener with a mixed pre-tournament record that reflects a side still finding their best form. Their most recent outing ended in a 1–1 draw away in Switzerland — a decent result on the road against a credible opponent just days before the tournament. Prior to that, they suffered a 1–0 defeat away in Mexico, a narrow loss to the hosts in another friendly on foreign soil. Before that, they produced one of their best recent performances, thrashing Curaçao 5–1 at home in a dominant display. Earlier in this run, they beat Cameroon 1–0 at home with a professional clean-sheet victory, and the sequence began with a 3–0 defeat away in Colombia. Two wins, a draw and two defeats — Australia are a side with clear quality but one that has struggled for consistency away from home.

Turkey arrive at this tournament in considerably more imposing form and will be among the more confident sides at this World Cup. Their most recent outing produced a 2–1 away win in Venezuela — four wins on the spin heading into the tournament, with that Venezuela result continuing a remarkable unbeaten sequence. Prior to that, they hammered North Macedonia 4–0 at home in a dominant performance. Before that, they won 1–0 away in Kosovo, and earlier in this run they beat Romania 1–0 at home. The sequence began with a 2–2 draw away in Spain — a creditable result against one of Europe’s strongest sides. Four wins and a draw across five matches, conceding just three goals across the entire run, points to a Turkey side that is both dangerous going forward and resolute at the back.

The head-to-head record favours Turkey, who have won both of the recorded meetings between these sides — both of which were played on Australian soil. Most recently, they won 1–0 away in Australia in May 2004. In the previous encounter, also played in Australia, they won 3–1 in another friendly later that same month.

Turkey’s recent form makes them clear favourites here, and their ability to grind out results — whether winning 4–0 or 1–0 — suggests a well-organised and versatile side. Australia will be energised by the occasion and will look to make the match tight and physical, but Turkey’s superior recent record and quality across the pitch makes them the side to beat in this Group D clash.

In Australia, the match is live on SBS and available to stream via SBS On Demand. In Turkey, viewers can watch on TRT 1 and TRT Spor, with streaming via Digiturk Play and tabii. In the UK and Ireland, the game is available on ITV 1 and ITVX, with STV and STV Player also carrying the fixture in Scotland.

Possible line-ups:

Australia (3-4-2-1)

Trewin, Circati, Souttar, Beach, O’Neill, Volpato, Okon-Engstler, Behich, Herrington, Irankunda, Yengi

Turkiye (4-2-3-1)

Çakir, Elmali, Bardakci, Kabak, Çelik, Kökcü, Yüksek, Gül, Güler, Kahveci, Yilmaz

Group D

Pos	Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	USA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Paraguay	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Türkiye	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Australia Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
🤝	Switzerland	1 – 1	Australia	International Friendly	Jun 6, 2026
❌	Mexico	1 – 0	Australia	International Friendly	May 31, 2026
✅	Australia	5 – 1	Curaçao	International Friendly	Mar 31, 2026
✅	Australia	1 – 0	Cameroon	International Friendly	Mar 27, 2026
❌	Colombia	3 – 0	Australia	International Friendly	Nov 19, 2025

Turkey Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Venezuela	1 – 2	Türkiye	International Friendly	Jun 6, 2026
✅	Türkiye	4 – 0	North Macedonia	International Friendly	Jun 1, 2026
✅	Kosovo	0 – 1	Türkiye	International Friendly	Mar 31, 2026
✅	Türkiye	1 – 0	Romania	International Friendly	Mar 26, 2026
🤝	Spain	2 – 2	Türkiye	International Friendly	Nov 18, 2025

Head to Head

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
Australia	0 – 1	Türkiye	International Friendly	May 24, 2004
Australia	1 – 3	Türkiye	International Friendly	May 21, 2004

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Australia	SBS, SBS On Demand
Turkey	TRT 1, TRT Spor, Digiturk Play, tabii
Great Britain	ITV 1, ITVX, STV, STV Player
Ireland	ITV 1, RTE 2, ITVX, RTE Player
USA	Fox Sports 1, fuboTV, Telemundo, Peacock, FOX Sports App
Germany	MagentaTV
France	beIN Sports 1, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, Free
Brazil	SporTV, Globo, Globoplay, CazéTV
Canada	TSN+, TSN1, CTV App
Japan	DAZN Japan, Nippon TV