Australia Shocked Turkey 2-0 - the Socceroos Are Serious About This Tournament

[Maya98]

Australia beat Turkey 2-0 in their Group D opener and the result was more convincing than the scoreline suggests. The Socceroos were the better side throughout and their head coach has already been linked with the USMNT job following a performance that raised Australia's profile significantly. Turkey were expected to be competitive after a strong qualifying campaign and the margin of victory caught many observers off guard. Australia are in Group D with the United States, who beat Paraguay 4-1 in the tournament opener, and the group looks much more open now than the draw suggested.

The US beating Paraguay 4-1 and Australia beating Turkey 2-0 means both sides have won their opening games and a direct contest between them will likely decide group leadership. That match has quickly become one of the most anticipated of the group stage. Australia at the 2006 World Cup produced one of the tournament's great individual performances from Harry Kewell and the fanbase has never forgotten what a genuine World Cup run looks like. This squad, built around a generation of players developed in European leagues, has the quality to go deep in the tournament if they maintain this level of performance.

How far do you think Australia can go and what does the Group D picture look like after the opening games?

[SpinorWave]

Australia were genuinely good against Turkey, not just the recipients of a bad Turkey performance. The tactical structure and the physicality they brought to the game was a level above what I expected from the group stage opening

[Maisie84]

The USMNT link for the Socceroos coach is interesting but probably premature. One good performance is not a job interview even if the timing coincides with American media looking for angles on their own team

[Red Wrench]

Group D now comes down to USA vs Australia as the group leadership battle with Paraguay and Turkey both having lost their openers. That match has gone from an interesting fixture to a defining one in 24 hours

[Sentinel96]

Australia's European-based player development story is actually remarkable. A generation ago the pathway for Australian talent was almost entirely domestic. Now the core of the squad has Premier League and Bundesliga experience

[Baz_26]

Turkey will feel they underperformed and the post-match reaction in Ankara will be intense. Their second game becomes a must-win situation which is a different psychological environment

[Frost Hermit]

The USA beating Paraguay 4-1 and Australia beating Turkey 2-0 on the same day means Group D has produced the tournament's biggest early signal about who might go deep into the knockout stages

[RomanReigns]

Australia have shown before at World Cups that they can qualify from groups but historically struggle in the round of 16 against European opposition. The question is whether this squad is different

[GlobalBob37]

The connection between Australian performance at this World Cup and the health of the A-League and domestic football development is direct. Success matters for the infrastructure of the game at home

[IronFist66]

Paraguay losing 4-1 to the US and Turkey losing 2-0 to Australia means the two seeds in Group D have both won comfortably. On paper this was the expected outcome. How it happened matters for what comes next

[Crossing65]

An Australia deep run in a North American World Cup would have enormous commercial value for the game in the Asia-Pacific region. The timing, the location and the quality of the squad all align in a way that has not happened before