Australia vs Turkey World Cup prediction, team news, odds, betting tips and Bet Builder

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Australia vs Turkey World Cup kick-off, date & TV channel and venue

Date Sunday, June 14
Kick-off 5am
Venue BC Place, Vancouver
Stage of Competition Group D
TV channel ITV1

Having not qualified for the World Cup since finishing third in 2002, Turkey will be keen to make up for lost time and their Group D campaign starts with a tricky test against Australia in Vancouver.

The Socceroos are making their sixth straight World Cup appearance and will want to build on their run to the last 16 in Qatar four years ago, which was a hint that they may no longer be one of the tournament's weak links.

Australia vs Turkey betting tips & predictions

Best bet

Turkey to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 13-10 Coral, Ladbrokes

Turkey sealed their World Cup return with gritty 1-0 successes over Romania and Kosovo in the playoffs and they may have to be meticulous in their approach against Australia, who boast plenty of recent World Cup experience and conceded just seven goals in 16 AFC qualifiers to highlight their defensive strength. 

Best player bet

Ismail Yuksek to be shown a card
10-3 Betfair, Paddy Power

Australia vs Turkey World Cup match preview 

Vincenzo Montella has guided Turkey back to the World Cup for the first time since their third-place finish in 2002 and an impressive run to the quarter-final of Euro 2024 has put them in the dark-horse category for many.

The Crescent-Stars have been weighed down by that tag in the European Championship plenty of times but they are expected to serve up the biggest challenge to co-hosts the United States in Group D on their World Cup return.

Montella is adored by Turkish fans due to his success in turning around an underachieving squad and they sealed their place with hard-fought 1-0 wins over Romania and Kosovo in the playoffs.

Turkey will feel that it was the least they deserved as they were forced to chase home Spain in their qualifying group, winning four of their six games and drawing 2-2 with La Roja in Seville.

Now is the time to show that they can cope with the weight of expectation and in Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu and Real Madrid’s Arda Guler they have real star quality.

Their possession-based approach is one that should be well suited to tournament football in high temperatures and Australia, making their sixth straight World Cup appearance, may struggle to contain them.

Having suffered group-stage exits in South Africa, Brazil and Russia, the Socceroos made the last 16 in Qatar four years ago, when 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark helped them chase home France in Group D.

Australia lost 2-1 to champions Argentina at the first knockout hurdle and they qualified for this World Cup without a playoff, finishing second in a group won by Japan. However, they did take four points from the Samurai Blue.

The quality in the Australian squad continues to grow - Jordan Bos, Nestory Irankunda and Mohamed Toure are three emerging talents in forward areas, and their qualifying campaign was further evidence of strong defensive foundations.

Australia’s ten games in the third round of AFC qualifying featured just 23 goals and their two warm-up matches were a 1-0 defeat to Mexico and a 1-1 draw with Switzerland, suggesting that Turkey may have to adopt a patient approach.

Yuksek’s card credentials are crystal clear 

Ismail Yuksek is a tenacious defensive-minded midfielder who provides protection with the aim of giving Calhanoglu more licence to roam and that makes him a leading card candidate.

The Fenerbahce man was booked in two of his four appearances in the group stage of qualifying and he was also carded in the decisive win over Kosovo in the playoffs.

Yuksek has been booked eight times in 32 caps and he picked up a yellow in four of his eight starts for Fenerbahce in the Europa League this season.

Bet Builder

Australia v Turkey

Sun, 14 June, 05:00

Turkey

Match odds

Arda Guler

To Score Or Assist

Ismail Yuksek

Shown a Card

£10 returns ≈ £105.46

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Australia vs Turkey World Cup Bet Builder tips

Turkey to win

Turkey hold realistic ambitions of topping Group D and they can start with a victory over Australia, who have lost four of their last seven internationals.

Arda Guler to score or assist

The Real Madrid star is Turkey's leading light and the 21-year-old has 15 goal contributions in just 30 caps.

Ismail Yuksek to be shown a card

Yuksek does the gritty stuff in midfield for Turkey and he has been booked eight times in 32 caps, while he is regularly carded for club side Fenerbahce.

Pays out at 9.55-1 with Paddy Power

Key stats for Australia vs Turkey

♦ Turkey are on an eight-game unbeaten run
♦ Turkey have kept clean sheets in four of their last six games
♦ Australia have suffered four defeats in their last seven internationals
♦ Australia have failed to score in three of their last six matches
♦ Only two of Australia's last 13 matches have featured four or more goals

Australia vs Turkey betting odds

Sign up with bet365 to bet on this match. Here are the latest odds:

Odds correct at time of publishing

Want more top World Cup betting advice? Make sure you take a look at Racing Post Sport's World Cup 2026 tips for more of the latest picks from our experts.

Australia vs Turkey team news and predicted line-ups

Australia

The Socceroos have a fully fit squad to choose from and manager Tony Popovic may favour energy in forward areas with up-and-coming talents Nestory Irankunda and Mohamed Toure. Leicester's Harry Souttar should be the key component in a a back three system.

Predicted line-up (3-4-2-1): Ryan; Souttar, Circati, Burgess; Italiano, Irvine, O’Neill, Bos; Irankunda, Leckie; Toure.
Subs: Behich, Geria, Herrington, Degenek, Hrustic, Mabil, Devlin, Metcalfe, Trewin, Okon-Engstler, Volpato, Velupillay, Yengi.

Turkey

Manager Vincenzo Montella is known to mix things up with his formation but a 4-2-3-1 system would look most likely in a bid to play to Arda Guler's strengths.

Predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Cakir; Celik, Demiral, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Calhanoglu, Yuksek; Guler, Kokcu, Yildiz; Akturkoglu.
Subs: Soyuncu, Elmali, Muldur, Kabak, Akaydin, Uzun, Ayhan, Kahveci, Ozcan, Yilmaz, Gul, Aydin, Akgun.

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FAQs

When is Australia vs Turkey at the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Australia vs Turkey takes place on Sunday, June 14 and kicks off at 5am BST.

Where is Australia vs Turkey being played?

The venue for the game is BC Place, Vancouver.

What TV channel is Australia vs Turkey on?

ITV1 is showing the game live in the UK.

Where can I find the best World Cup betting offers?  

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