An early goal, a red card, flamboyant refereeing and a resolute Paraguayan defence shutting out a Turkish attack that lacked ideas.
Whilst the game may not have been a World Cup classic, it definitely showcased the emotions of the World Cup, with survival on the line for both sides.
Despite once again dominating possession and accumulating a staggering 32 attempts on goal, Turkey rarely looked like scoring, and exit with a whimper whilst Paraguay keep their Round of 32 hopes alive.
Team News:
Three changes were made by Vincenzo Montella following Turkey’s shock defeat to Australia.
Mert Muldur and Yunus Akgun of Istanbul rivals Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, respectively, were brought in, as was young Juventus starlet Kenan Yildiz, who was only fit enough for 45 minutes in the opener.
Zeki Celik, Orkun Kokcu and Baris Yilmaz all made way.
Paraguay -
As for the South Americans, it was two alterations from the 4-1 thrashing at the hands of hosts USA. Matias Galarza and Isidro Pitta were brought in for Damian Bobadilla and Antonio Sanabria.
Story of the Match:
It was an emphatic start to the contest for Paraguay, who momentarily silenced the raucous Turkish support after a goal scored 64 seconds in.
Turkey get caught playing out from the back and Paraguay pounce, allowing Julio Enciso to lay the ball off to one of the two changes in Matias Galarza.
The Atlanta United loanee made an immediate impact by firing the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Moments after, a somewhat overzealous Galarza goes flying into a challenge with Yunus Akgun, picking up a yellow card and setting the tempo for a bruising encounter.
Following the goal, Turkey immediately took charge of the possession, with Paraguay happy to sit off and try to hit their opponents on the break.
After the first half hydration break, Turkey continued their dominance in possession and territory, and almost had an equaliser with a Hakan Calhanoglu free kick finding the head of Mert Muldur, who saw his header crash off the woodwork.
Shortly after this, the Paraguayans showed the threat they posed on the break as a blocked Enciso attempt led to the ball falling to Juan Caceres. The 26-year-old full back drilled the ball goalwards, forcing the save from Cakir.
After a fiery first half, it was far from surprising when a flare up in the middle of the pitch occurred just before the break.
However, Mert Muldur, amongst other Turkish players, spotted something untoward in the verbal melee.
Former Newcastle United player Miguel Almiron was spotted covering his mouth with his hand whilst uttering words to Muldur at a point of on-field conflict.
This has been flagged as a new directive heading into this tournament as a red card offence, in order to tackle the discriminatory language that is often utilised when covering the mouth.
As such, a review resulted in a red card to Almiron, forcing Paraguay to retreat even further.
After the half-time whistle blew, tempers flared further between both benches, with the enormity of the circumstances setting in.
The overriding theme of the second half was set from the get-go. With wave after wave of Turkish attack interrupted by fleeting counters by Paraguay, as a result of the numbers Turkey committed forward.
Montella’s side were happy to shoot from distance, with Demiral in particular causing problems with well-struck efforts.
On the hour, Paraguay could have doubled their advantage against the odds after a counter left Enciso dancing through bodies inside the area, before he opens out his body and skews his shot wide from just outside the six-yard box.
Straight up the other end, Turkey were inches away from scoring again as Deniz Gul rose to glance a header into the gloves of Orlando Gill.
As the second half wore on, the dark arts continued to be implemented by Paraguay as they desperately tried to run the clock down.
With time running out, Gul looked like the player to get Turkey back level after Yilmaz’s ball was fired across the six-yard box, were it not for a magnificent last-ditch tackle made by Gustavo Gomez.
As Paraguay sent players forward for a free kick, they get caught by a counter as the ball is played in behind for Yilmaz, who cuts the ball back towards the penalty spot for Can Uzun, whose shot is parried by Gill into the path of Gul.
The Porto prospect fluffs his lines and puts the ball wide with the goals beckoning, but is spared by the fact that he was in an offside position.
Perhaps the chance of the game for Turkey came in the last of the seven additional minutes at the end of the game, as substitute Elmali’s delivery is met by a leaping Demiral, whose tears were evident as he watched the ball drift wide of the target.
As well as Turkey's exit, the result now leaves Paraguay with a shootout for second against Australia, with the winner playing second place from Group G in the Round of 32 (currently Iran).
Additionally, the USA have now officially won Group D with a game to spare, and can not only rest players against Turkey, but have a date in the same stadium as Paraguay's win as they'll play a 3rd placed team from either Group B/E/F/I/J in Santa Clara.
Player of the Match - Gustavo Gomez:
The 33-year-old Palmeiras centre-half put a testing afternoon against the USA behind him by putting up a mammoth performance at the back, helping repel the relentless Turkish attack.
Numerous big headers, as well as a key block of Can Uzun's effort and his last-ditch tackle to deny Gul all contributed to a World Cup clean sheet and three points despite playing the entire second half a player down.
