Arda Guler Issues Apology After Turkey's World Cup Elimination
Turkey's World Cup dream came to an unexpected end, leaving one of the team's brightest young stars searching for answers. Arda Guler, who entered the tournament carrying huge expectations after his rise at the club level, was left devastated after his nation's elimination and issued an emotional apology to supporters.
The disappointment came after Turkey's 1-0 loss against Paraguay in their second Group D match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Matias Galarza scored just two minutes into the game to give Paraguay an early lead. Despite Turkey's dominance throughout the match, they could not find a way back.
Reflecting on his country's early exit, Guler apologized to Turkish fans and held himself accountable for the loss. "There's really not much to say. We're very sorry, we're ashamed. We apologize to all our people," he said. The 21-year-old also vowed to build a strong future with the national team in order to overcome the disappointment of the World Cup exit.
Arda Güler:
— serbestiyet (@serbestiyetweb) June 20, 2026
"Gerçekten söylenecek çok fazla şey yok. Çok üzgünüz, utanç duyuyoruz. Tüm halkımızdan özür dileriz.
Milli takım kariyerim boyunca bu turnuvayı unutturmak için elimden geleni yapacağım. Çok büyük takımlarda oynuyoruz, sahada bunu göstermeliydik.
Arkadaşlıkla… pic.twitter.com/Kbmxr5YnMk
Guler said, "Throughout my national team career, I'll do everything I can to make them forget this tournament." He then pointed out how some players in Turkey, including himself, play for major clubs like Real Madrid. "We're playing in very big teams, we should have shown that on the field," he said.
Alongside Guler, the Turkish squad consists of their captain Hakan Calhanoglu of Inter Milan and Kenan Yildiz of Juventus FC. With so much talent in the locker room, rumors emerged of tension within the Turkish side. However, Guler shut them down by saying, "There's no problem with friendship! We just couldn't do what we wanted on the field, we couldn't score, we couldn't pull it off. We're sorry."
Turkey's elimination was made more frustrating by their control of the match. They held 78% possession and recorded five shots on target compared to Paraguay's two. Their chances of a comeback improved after Paraguay were reduced to 10 players late in the first half when Miguel Almiron was shown a red card for violating a new rule that bans players from covering their mouths during confrontations.
Nevertheless, Turkey failed to take advantage as they suffered their second loss in this year's World Cup. Turkey's World Cup return had already carried historic importance. The nation had not qualified for the tournament since the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where they surprisingly finished third after losing to Brazil in the semifinals.
Returning to the biggest stage 24 years later, Turkey had high expectations of winning the hearts of many. However, they will now face the USA in their final Group Stage match on June 25 before heading home in disappointment.
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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 7:30 AM.