A Player Was Kicked Out of a World Cup Game for One Unusual Gesture

Day 9 was one to remember at the 2026 World Cup.

The United States of America is soaring into the Round of 32 as the best team in Group D.

Brazil and Morocco are still fighting to see who will come out in Group C.

And in one of the strangest matches you’ll ever see, Paraguay somehow eliminated Turkey from the tournament in a game where they played with 10 men for half the game.

Here are the big winners and losers from the day that was at the most prestigious sports tournament on the planet.

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Winner: Paraguay

How?

No, seriously, how did Paraguay win that game?

They scored in the opening three minutes of the game and then were on the defensive the rest of the game, including over 50 minutes down a man against a Turkey team with legitimate attacking superstars on the field.

After getting embarrassed by the United States in their World Cup opener, this is a game where every Paraguayan player who was on the field will be remembered as a hero for keeping their dreams alive.

Well, every Paraguayan player except one.

Loser: Miguel Almirón

Almirón made history on Friday night.

He became the first player in World Cup history to be given a red card and ejected from a game due to covering his mouth.

A new rule was implemented following issues in the Champions League with players allegedly using hate speech and covering their mouth to mask it. Every team was warned before the tournament that if a player covered their mouth while talking to an opponent, they’d be seen off.

Paraguay and Turkey played an incredibly physical first half, and with time winding down, Almirón was caught saying something to a Turkish player with covering his mouth. The Turkey players alerted the official, who quickly confirmed the banned hand gesture and showed Almirón the red card.

If Paraguay had been effectively eliminated from the World Cup because of a player covering his mouth to trash talk, Almirón might never be able to return to his home country. He might be buying for everyone at the celebratory dinner after tonight’s win.

Winner: Christian Pulisic

Pulisic was a gametime decision on Friday on whether he’d play or not after suffering a calf injury in the first game against Paraguay. When it was announced that he’d be out, it was a big blow for the Americans going into their big game against Australia.

Not only did Pulisic get to watch a win on the bench and avoid an extremely physical defense from the Aussies, but with the U.S. clinching Group D after two games, he can get even more rest before the Round of 32. He will now have over a week to rest before the United States play their first knockout game on the first day of July in the Bay Area.

Loser: Turkey

Before the tournament started, I had the U.S. versus Turkey as one of the most anticipated games of the group stage. It was supposed to be the decider to see who would top Group D. Turkey boasted a lineup that had two prodigies on its roster in Real Madrid‘s Arda Guler and Juventus attacker Kenan Yıldız.

Yet, that game is now meaningless, as the Americans will most likely rest most or all of their starters and Turkey has no chance to make it to the next round. For a team with such sparking talent, they’ve been the most frustrating team to watch at the World Cup, firing over 50 shots at net in their two games and not putting it in the net once.

This dark horse turned out to be made of paper.

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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 9:19 AM.