Australia vs Turkey Predicted Lineups & Team News

In the early hours of Sunday morning (5am BST/9pm Saturday local, ITV1/STV), the second game from Group D at the FIFA World Cup takes place in Vancouver as Australia face Turkey in what is their first competitive meeting.

Below I take a look at the latest team news and who the key players are, as well as providing my Australia vs Turkey predicted lineups.

Australia

The good news for Australia is that they've come through the warm-ups for the World Cup without any injury concerns, which cannot be said for a few of the other teams participating at this tournament.

The Socceroos reached the round of 16 for the second time in their history at the last edition in Qatar, but they still wait to win a knockout match.

Boss Tony Popovic demands physical intensity across the pitch, so Australia will be prepared for any challenges of strength thrown their way in Group D.

He likes to go with three centre-backs for that extra shield in front of the goalkeeper, which is expected to be former Brighton & Hove Albion man Matthew Ryan.

Veteran Jackson Irvine is set to operate in the middle of the park and he's never been shy to put in the miles running around the pitch. He'll be tasked with getting the ball forward quickly to the young talents of Nestory Irankunda and Mohamed Toure, who both ply their trade in the Championship with Watford and Norwich City respectively.

The latter scored nine goals in 11 appearances for the Canaries in the second half of 2025/26, so there'll be plenty of eyes on him out in North America.

Turkey

Kenan Yildiz is a doubt for this one due to a calf injury, which could be a big blow for the Crescent-Stars. Deniz Gul may be charged with leading the line for Turkey as a result, and he has two goals in eight appearances to date.

There's good news regarding Arda Güler, though, as it appears the midfielder has overcome his own physical issues and should be good to go for Sunday's opener against Australia.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu will captain the side and he should operate in deep midfield in a bid to pull the strings of this clash.

Remember you can bet on this match and check out all of the live Australia vs Turkey Odds over on betfred.com

Australia vs Turkey Key Players:

Mohamed Toure (Australia)

Australia's squad isn't filled with star-studded quality but they have two interesting attacking players in Toure and Irankunda. Both may be young but they don't lack for confidence and I think their form will impact the Socceroos' performance at the World Cup.

Irankunda will bring the trickery and speed from out wide, as well as shots from range, but it's the goalscoring talent of Toure that I think will be most important for Australia.

Nine goals in 11 league games for Norwich should put him in an extremely confident mood for this tournament, and his stocks will only rise if he can grab a few goals on the biggest stage.

Arda Güler (Turkey)

He may just be 21 years of age, but Guler is already playing like a well-seasoned professional. He's already an established player at Real Madrid, and he will bring a calmness to Turkey's play in North America. Guler's game intelligence is remarkable, so he's expected to be the big creative force for the Crescent-Stars.

He also has goals in his locker, as we saw with his sublime effort in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich last term.

For all of our coverage and betting markets for the festival of football this summer, please check out our World Cup Odds over on betfred.com