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Australia 2-0 Turkey: World Cup Group D player ratings
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The Guardian·about 10 hours ago

Australia 2-0 Turkey: World Cup Group D player ratings

Patrick Beach Tipped a ballistic Bardakci shot onto the post to maintain Australia’s lead in the first half, and made two crucial saves from free-kicks in the second. A dream World Cup debut for the 22-year-old. 8

Alessandro Circati Calm beyond his years, strong in his individual challenges, powerful in the air. Nothing got past him. 7

Harry Souttar Captained the side in the absence of Mat Ryan, and thumped away any ball that entered the penalty area with his head or boot. 8

Read more Cameron Burgess Muscled away every attacker who came down his channel. A brick wall on the left side of a solid defence. 7

Jacob Italiano Kept Yilmaz quiet on the left, threw himself in front of every cross and shot. Received a standing ovation when he was substituted. 8

Jordan Bos Defensively disciplined in the first half; kept Arda Guler quiet for 45 minutes. Could have offered more going forward, though. 7

Aiden O’Neill A tidy circuit-breaker in midfield, kept the team ticking along, but could have been more positive in his passing. 6

Paul Okon-Engstler Grew braver as the game progressed. Delivered the long ball in behind for Irankunda’s opener. 7

Connor Metcalfe Great energy and pressing from the opening whistle. Tore through Turkey’s midfield to score Australia’s second. 8

Nestory Irankunda Scored a stunning solo goal with his first proper service of the game. Lightning pace that few can compete with, and looked dangerous every time he used it. 8

Mohamed Touré Chased shadows for most of the game. Sprinted in behind Turkey’s defenders on a handful of occasions, but tripped over himself before doing anything dangerous. 6

Aziz Behich (Bos 80) Was beaten to a late header, which thankfully flew over the crossbar. 6; Jason Geria (Italiano 74) Stayed calm when defending Yildiz, didn’t make any rash decisions. 6; Jackson Irvine (Okon-Engstler 83) Gave away a dangerous free-kick a minute after coming on, but otherwise shored up Australia’s defensive midfield shape. 6; Nishan Velupillay (Irankunda 60) Sat deep and stayed disciplined to help Australia defend their 2-0 lead. 6; Tete Yengi (Toure 74) Used his huge frame to wrestle with Turkey’s centre-backs, but hardly touched the ball. 6

Urgurcan Cakir Commanding in the box, especially against some mountainous Australian centre-backs. Aside from the goal, barely put a foot wrong. 7

Read more Zeki Celik Made some threatening forward runs from right-back to provide a transitional outlet, but got beaten by Irankunda for the opening goal. 6

Merih Demiral Did everything asked of him, but not much more. 6

Abdulkerim Bardakci Calm under pressure, released a few cross-field attacking passes. Turkey’s best defender. 7

Ferdi Kadioglu Was beaten a few times at left-back but gradually made his way up the pitch to contribute to attacking phases. 6

Hakan Calhanoglu Main ball-carrier, controlled the tempo and connected lines. Kept Turkey moving forward. 7

Orkun Kokcu Spun a great chance wide after the half-hour. Ever-present but lacked creativity. 6

Arda Guler Turkey’s most creative attacking player but struggled to find clear openings. 8

Arda Guler cannot hide his frustration at full-time. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters

View image in fullscreen Arda Guler cannot hide his frustration at full-time. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters Ismail Yuksek Couldn’t find space in Australia’s tightly-packed midfield. Had one or two carries, but little impact. 6

Baris Alper Yilmaz Was suffocated by Italiano for most of the first half, limiting his attacking impact. 5

Kerem Akterkoglu Barely touched the ball across the 90 minutes. Tried to contest a comical header against Souttar out of desperation. 5

Read more Substitutes Mert Muldur (Celik 81) Added fresh legs, but didn’t really use them. 6; Salih Ozcan (Yuksek 81) Struggled to crack through Australia’s midfield. 6; Deniz Gul (Akturkoglu 85) N/A; Kenan Yildız (Yilmaz 45) Immediately elevated Turkey’s attack down the left, sliding past Italiano on multiple occasions. 7 ; Yunus Akgun (Kokcu 62) Brought more attacking energy to Turkey’s right wing. Received a late yellow card out of frustration. 6

Sources: The Guardian

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