The Australians created little but took their chances superbly, while waves of Turkish attacks were repelled by the well-drilled green and gold defence as the Socceroos snatched a victory few would have predicted.
Australia took the lead when the pacy Irankunda chased a ball from Paul Okon-Engstler down the left channel before cutting inside and slotting past Ugurcan Cakir to open the scoring.
Australia got to the break with their one-goal lead intact, and the pattern of the game started to settle, Turkey dominating possession and the Socceroos backing off.
Turkey’s 21-year-old playmaker Arda Guler was at the heart of most of their attacks but was confronted by banks of Australians behind the ball as they conceded space on the flanks to pack the middle of the pitch.
With Turkey throwing everything at the Australian defence in a futile attempt to find the equaliser, they were stunned once again when
Metcalfe picked up a loose ball and tried his luck from distance, his bouncing shot finding the net in the 75th minute.
♦ Scotland battled past Haiti 1-0 yesterday courtesy of John McGinn’s first-half goal to go top of Group C with their first win in the tournament since 1990.
McGinn put them into the lead in the 28th minute when his shot took a double deflection to land in the back of the Haiti net.
♦ Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw by Morocco in their Group C opener yesterday, Vinicius jun’s fine strike cancelling out a goal from Ismael Saibari.
Morocco made the brighter start and took the lead in the 21st minute when Saibari finished a swift counterattack, racing through the middle to convert Brahim Diaz’s through ball.
They controlled much of the first half and threatened again before Brazil levelled through a moment of quality from Vinicius jun, who cut in from the left and curled a right-footed shot into the top corner in the 32nd minute.
♦ Qatar snatched their first ever World Cup point with a stoppage-time goal to draw 1-1 with Switzerland in an energetic and one-sided Group B opener yesterday.
The Swiss went ahead in the 17th minute when Breel Embolo coolly stroked home a penalty but paid the price for failing to score more after 26 attempts on goal in a match they dominated right from the kickoff.
Qatar soaked up the pressure in the blistering California sun and deep into added time stunned the Swiss, captain Boualem Khoukhi heading home a cross from the left from Homam Ahmed to spark chaotic scenes in the stadium.
♦ United States forward Folarin Balogun scored a brace in front of a rapturous US crowd as the co-hosts romped to a 4-1 victory over Paraguay on Saturday in their Group D opener.
After seven minutes, a swift combination from Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic split the opposition defence and ended in Paraguay midfielder Damian Bobadilla touching the ball into his own net.
Balogun doubled their lead in the 31st minute as the US attackers seemed to be able to cut through the Paraguay defence at will. The 24-year-old grabbed his second on the stroke of halftime with a fine strike into the top left corner.
Paraguay’s Mauricio pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute after being set up by Julio Enciso.
However, Giovanni Reyna completed the rout for the US in stoppage time, finishing with the outside of his boot.
UPCOMING
Monday
Group E: Ivory Coast v Ecuador, 11am.
Group F: Netherlands v Japan, 8am; Sweden v Tunisia, 2pm.
Tuesday
Group H: Spain v Cape Verde, 4am; Saudi Arabia v Uruguay, 10am.
Group G: Belgium v Egypt, 7am; Iran v New Zealand, 1pm.
