Paraguay scored early and then held on to beat Turkey 1-0 at the World Cup on Friday with 10 men after Miguel Almirón became the first player to be sent off at the tournament for covering his mouth in a confrontation.
Almirón got his marching orders in first half stoppage time after a video review revealed that he had violated new rules while exchanging words with Turkey player Mert Müldür.
The rule was introduced recently to punish racist or other discriminatory incidents on the pitch.
Almirón had earlier set up Matias Galarza to score the only goal just over a minute into the match.
Paraguay kept their knock-out rounds bid alive with a first victory after losing their opener against the United States and will play Australia for an assured last-32 berth in the group finale next week.
Turkey were meanwhile eliminated with a second straight defeat, coupled with the US team’s victory against Australia earlier in the day. They are also yet to score at the tournament.
Paraguay’s victory also means that the US have won Group D ahead of their last game against Turkey.
The South Americans had a dream start in Santa Clara when Galarza drilled home into the bottom corner from a distance.
Paraguay then defended deep and hoped for counter attacks while Turkey tried to come back.
Their best chance came in the 35th minute when a header from Müldür hit the crossbar and then the right post without crossing the line.
Some 10 minutes later tempers flared in midfield after a foul and referee Iván Barton of El Salvador went to the pitch-side monitor for a check which revealed that Almirón had covered his mouth briefly while exchanging words with Müldür.
Urged by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the rule was introduced after Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt when he insulted Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior in a Champions League match in February.
Vinícius Júnior said he was racially abused while Prestianni admitted to a homophobic slur and was banned by UEFA.
Turkey fought with one man more after the break but Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill saved twice from Merih Demiral and then from Can Uzun’s point-blank range shot in the 89th.
And it was all over for Turkey when Demiral’s header went just wide right and a final desperate effort from captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu also missed the target in stoppage time.
