Australia stunned T\u00fcrkiye in Group D play at the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> on Saturday, and an MLS midfielder was at the heart of it all.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n New York City FC<\/a> standout Aiden O\u2019Neill<\/a> started and played the full 90 minutes for the Socceroos, who got goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe en route to a 2-0 victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n T\u00fcrkiye were largely perceived as the favorite at Vancouver Stadium, with Real Madrid’s Arda G\u00fcler and Inter Milan’s Hakan \u00c7alhano\u011flu among their top players.<\/p>\n Instead, Australia scored on either side of halftime to begin their World Cup journey on the front foot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Australia get the win in their opening match of this World Cup. \u2705 pic.twitter.com\/OFcH0gbnSi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 14, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n With his complete performance, O\u2019Neill became the third active MLS player to play for Australia in the World Cup. The other two are former Red Bull New York<\/a> midfielder Tim Cahill (2014) and former Columbus Crew<\/a> defender Milo\u0161 Degenek (2022).<\/p>\n O’Neill is one of three MLS players<\/a> on Australia’s World Cup squad, alongside NYCFC teammate Kai Trewin<\/a> and Colorado Rapids<\/a> defender Lucas Herrington<\/a>. Trewin and Herrington were both unused substitutes against T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A box-to-box midfielder, O’Neill joined NYCFC in April 2025<\/a> from Belgian side Standard Li\u00e8ge. He’s tallied 0g\/7a in 31 regular-season matches for the perennial Audi MLS Cup Playoffs club.<\/p>\n Internationally, O’Neill has 32 caps. He was a key part of Australia qualifying for their seventh World Cup.<\/p>\n O’Neill, Trewin and Herrington return to action on Friday against the United States<\/a> in Seattle (3 pm ET | FOX, Telemundo, Peacock).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n \n