Australia vs Turkiye: All-time head-to-head record ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 clash

These two sides will lock horns after 22 years

BC Palace in Vancouver, Canada, gears up to host the opening matchweek fixture of Group D in the FIFA World Cup 2026, where former Asian champions Australia are all set to lock horns with FIFA World Cup 2002 bronze-medalists Turkiye.

Australia have regularly played in the last five editions of the FIFA World Cup, whereas Turkiye will be making their World Cup comeback after a long wait of nearly two decades. However, in their last World Cup appearance in 2002, they shocked the world by clinching a bronze medal after defeating South Korea.

Australia made it to the Round of 16 in the last World Cup before falling out to eventual champions Argentina. Given Turkiye’s youngsters, who are in terrific form, many are expecting Turkiye to emerge as the dark horse favourites to top Group D.

Ahead of the big game in Canada, it is very important to take a ride down memory lane to find out who has an upper hand in history. In this article, we take a closer look at what happened when these two sides last met two decades ago.

Australia vs Turkiye: Head-to-Head ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

So far, Australia and Turkiye have met each other twice. But both this fixture occured nearly two decades ago in an international friendly window. This will be the first time that both these sides meet at a major international competition.

So it was back in May 2004, when the ANZ Stadium in Sydney hosted these two sides for the first time. Umit Ozat made it 1-0 for Turkiye just before the first half, but Australia responded quickly, and Mark Bresciano equalised from the spot, but two late goals from Hakan Şükür saw Turkiye win 3-1

The second game in Sydney saw Nihat Kahveci scoring a brilliant direct free-kick goal in the 44th minute to make it 1-0 for the away side. The Aussies, led by Frank Farina, kept pushing harder for the equaliser, but all in vain as a solitary goal from the Turkish striker was enough to separate these two sides.

Australia vs Turkiye: International friendlies

• Matches: 2
• Australia: 0
• Turkiye: 2
• Draws: 0

Australia vs Turkiye: Overall record

• Matches: 2
• Australia: 0
• Turkiye: 2
• Draws: 0

Australia vs Turkiye: Last 2 matches

21/05/2004: Australia 1-3 Turkiye (International friendly)

24/05/2004: Australia 0-1 Turkiye (International friendly)

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