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2026 World Cup: Australia stun Turkiye 2-0 in counterattacking masterclass

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Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored as Australia spoiled Turkiye’s return to the World Cup for the first time in 24 years with a 2-0 victory.

Goalkeeper Patrick Beach made eight saves for the Socceroos in their group opener on Saturday night as FIFA President Gianni Infantino looked on.

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Australia coach Popovic had pulled off a massive shock in his starting lineup, dropping experienced captain and goalkeeper Maty Ryan in favour of Beach, winning only his third cap.

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Vice-captain Jackson Irvine was also dropped in favour of 21-year-old midfielder Paul Okon-Engstler in a starting XI that featured 10 World Cup debutants.

Both of those selections proved to be inspired, with Beach pulling off a string of fine saves to deny Turkiye, who dominated possession and territory but could not find a way past the Australian goalkeeper.

Okon-Engstler meanwhile was instrumental in setting up the opening goal in the first half, unleashing a long ball that split the Turkish defence and sent Irankunda racing in on goal to score.

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Turkiye – playing in the World Cup for the first time since finishing third at the 2002 tournament – arrived in North America dreaming of making a serious run in the knockout rounds.

But their talented team made up largely of players who regularly compete in the European Champions League were unable to get to grips with a well-organised Socceroos lineup.

One of Turkiye’s best chances came in the 27th minute when Real Madrid’s Arda Guler forced a smart save from Beach with a rasping shot.

Just seconds after that chance though Australia took the lead.

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Beach picked out Okon-Engstler deep in the Australia half, and the 21-year-old midfielder pumped the ball upfield for Irankunda.

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The Australia winger still had plenty to do but a clever first touch took him clear of the covering defence before he tucked away a low finish.

Irankunda celebrated by sprinting to the edge of the pitch and pretending to box the corner flag, mimicking former Australia skipper Tim Cahill’s signature goal celebration.

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Turkiye thought they had equalised three minutes later after Abdulkerim Bardakci’s piledriver from outside of the area hurtled towards goal.

But Beach got the slightest of fingertips to divert the ball onto the post and Australia survived again.

Beach kept up his commanding form in the second half, turning a Guler free-kick wide for a corner on 57 minutes.

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With Beach continuing to make save after save, Australia made the game safe in the 75th minute when Metcalfe picked the ball up in midfield, advanced on goal and shot home from 25 yards.

“Unreal, it is a dream come true. We have got the win now,” said Irankunda, the youngest men’s World Cup scorer for Australia and not a definite starter before kick-off.

“It feels amazing, you have got to thank the staff, thank the nation, they have got the belief in me.”

Australia are playing in their sixth straight World Cup and seventh overall.

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The Socceroos fell to France in the opener in Qatar but then beat Tunisia and Denmark in their group before getting knocked out by eventual champions Argentina in the round of 16.

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It is the third World Cup appearance for Turkiye, who reached the tournament for the first time in 1954.

The teams are in Group D with the United States and Paraguay. The Americans thrashed Paraguay 4-1 in their group opener on Friday in Los Angeles.

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KO artist who fought Canelo sets his sights on Chris Eubank Jr

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Chris Eubank Jr has not fought since his underwhelming rematch with Conor Benn, but the 36-year-old is now being targeted by a fierce knockout artist, who is willing to travel to London for the opportunity to face him.

Eubank scored an iconic win over Benn last April but when they rematched seven months later, he felt the full effects of a brutal weight cut, narrowly avoiding a stoppage defeat as he survived until the final bell on unsteady legs only to lose a wide unanimous decision.

Since then, the Hove-born contender has been advised to move up in weight and return to the super-middleweight scene, but he has also been linked to a catchweight clash with Michael Zerafa in Australia – a bout which would take place at 164lbs.

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New York’s Edgar Berlanga has now thrown his hat into the ring though, after revealing on ‘The Last Stand’ podcast about his intentions to face Eubank before the end of the year.

“I would love to step into the ring to end the year with Chris Eubank Jr. I feel like that fight is going to be a big fight in London.

“I told Keith [Connolly], I said that I would rather not do it out here in America. I would rather go to London, where he is from [U.K.], you know what I am saying? We can make a big, big fight happen. He is on the radar.”

Berlanga’s most high profile fight came back in 2024 when he challenged Canelo Alvarez for his unified super-middleweight crown, suffering a unanimous decision defeat, one of two losses in his career after also coming up short against Hamzah Sheeraz.

He has since signed with Zuffa Boxing and in his debut with the company on Sunday he knocked Steven Butler out after seven rounds, recovering from a second-round knockdown to earn the 19th stoppage victory of his career.

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In an interview with The Ring, Berlanga has now doubled down on his call-out of Eubank, hoping he can convince the Briton to swerve the Zerafa fight in favour of a clash on home soil.

“I’m looking forward to getting a real big fight with Chris Eubank. Let’s do it in London. It’s going to be big.”

Eubank maintains that he is currently a free agent, but it is unclear whether he is still contracted to Boxxer, with promoter Ben Shalom appearing to believe that their deal has not expired.

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Danhausen Names His Price For Major “Uncurse”

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Danhausen has named his price for yet another major uncursing. He has shockingly asked for ten million dollars and that is something that he has never done before.

The Very Nice Very Evil star has been on the lips of all sports fans ever since he helped the New York Knicks win the NBA title in June. The Knicks had not won the NBA championship in 53 years and only did so after he lifted their curse.

He has since become a household name and has also appeared on a lot of sports channels where they spoke about his powers. Danhausen will be taking on Dominik Mysterio at SummerSlam which will be held in Minnesota.

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He was posing for pictures with the fans when a fan asked him what would it take for him to uncurse the Minnesota Vikings, who have never won the NFL Championship. He jokingly said that it would take ten million dollars for him to uncurse the Vikings.

Danhausen makes bizarre request to the New York Knicks

The name Danhausen has been etched in the history of the New York Knicks. Ever since they won the NBA title, thanks to their curse being lifted, he has been praised by many of the Knicks players themselves.

After they won the title, the former AEW star made a bizarre request to the New York Knicks. He asked for a one day contract with the franchise so he can play and retire as a world champion. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, after the historic championship win, the former AEW star wrote:

“Danhausen is requesting a one day contract with The KNICKSHAUSEN so he may retire from basketball’s as a champion of the world”

It is the off season right now and there is not a lot of movement. However, given the kind of coverage and sensation the team has received from the WWE star, it should come as no surprise if they decide to adhere to the request and give him a one day contract.

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