Australian Cypriot Aziz Behich was a late substitute as Australia got off to a winning start at the World Cup, beating Turkey 2-0 at BC Place in Vancouver.

Behich, now 35 years old, is playing at his third World Cup, and featured for the final 12 minutes on Sunday, helping his side cruise to victory against a Turkey side which failed to get out of first gear on the day.

Australia had taken the lead in the 27th minute when Nestory Irankunda finished off a rapid counter-attacking move, sweeping past Merih Demiral before beating Ugurcan Cakir at his near post.

The game was then put beyond all doubt on 75 minutes, with Connor Metcalfe driving a low shot from range past Cakir.

Turkey had the majority of possession throughout the game, but struggled to create chances, thanks to a combination of resolute Australian defending and their own toothlessness going forward.

Real Madrid’s Arda Guler in particular flattered to deceive, appearing sluggish on the ball, though Turkey’s entire attack lacked a cutting edge which could seriously threaten the Australian defence.

This was improved somewhat during the opening stages of the first half with the introduction of Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz as a substitute, but even he eventually found himself restricted to pot shots from range, at which Australian defenders threw themselves to maintain their clean sheet.

Australia, meanwhile, looked like an organised unit, with each man knowing his role and executing it to a tee. While they had less of the ball and fewer forays into the opposition half than their opponent, they looked dangerous when in possession, with both goals displaying the quality at their disposal.

The match did attract interest in Cyprus, with the Turkish embassy in Nicosia hosting a watch party in the northern sector of Ayios Dhometios, attended by ambassador Ali Murat Basceri and the north’s ‘parliament speaker’ Ziya Ozturkler.

Australia sit second in Group D, and will now travel to Seattle, where they will play current group leaders and hosts the United States at 1pm local time (10pm Cyprus time) on Friday.

Turkey will next travel to San Francisco, where they will face Paraguay at 9pm on Friday local time, 6am on Saturday Cyprus time.

The Turkish embassy’s watch party in the northern sector of Ayios Dhometios