Turkey
Wales
Wales
Turkey and Wales kick off the second round of group stage fixtures with Turks bottom of group
Turkey 1-1 Wales
Turkey saw their campaign get off the worst possible start as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 on the opening night of the tournament by resurgent Italy.
They were a side who barely got going throughout the 90 minutes, constantly pinned back by the quality of the Italians and failing to hit a shot on target all game.
The Turks will need to make the trip from Italy to Azerbaijan for this game, where they will also face Switzerland in their final game of the group. Turkey will be aware that defeat here could well leave them stranded at the bottom of Group A.
Wales secured a vital point in their first game of the tournament, against Switzerland. Similar to Turkey, Wales had only 36% possession and really struggled to assert themselves on the game, but came away with a respectable 1-1 draw.
If they can win this one, they’ll feel confident about securing progression from the group.
World Ranking: 29
Best Historical Finish at the Euros: Semi Finals, 2008
Predicted Finish This Year: Round of 16
Reasons to be cheerful:
Will surely improve after poor performance against Italy
Should be able to control the game
Reasons to be fearful:
Poor defensive mistakes against Italy show weakness
Defeat here could essentially leave them stranded without hope
Many were disappointed with how toothless Turkey appeared against Italy on the opening night of the tournament.
They only had a third of the possession and managed zero attempts on target. They rarely had a way of getting out from the back, the old legs of striker Burak Yilmaz not quite fast enough to stretch the Italian defence.
Against Wales, they should at least see more of the ball. AC Milan’s Calhanoglu looks a quality player in midfield and will be key to them dictating the play against Wales.
Not in their favour, however, is the 2000 mile flight from Rome to Baku, in Azerbaijan, which is not ideal preparation for a game which they must not lose.
Star Man – Hakan Calhanoglu
Looked the Turkish player most capable of causing danger against Italy. He should have more space to create against Wales.
World Ranking: 17
Best Historical Finish at the Euros: Semi Finals, 2016
Predicted Finish This Year: Group Stage
Reasons to be cheerful:
Late equaliser against Switzerland will build confidence
Star players Ramsey and Bale should have more time on the ball here
Reasons to be fearful:
Looked rather toothless in attack against the Swiss
Struggled with neutral atmosphere in Baku
Wales came away with a point, which was perhaps a little more than they could have expected after a low-key performance against Switzerland.
They struggled, particularly in the first half, to make any sort of impact at all, especially from their key players Ramsey and Bale. Eventually, striker Kiefer Moore scored a header to equalise, which should bring some confidence here.
One thing that didn’t help was the fact that only 500 Welsh fans were in the stadium, with the rest of the crowd unable to bring much atmosphere. Their performance was sluggish as a result.
Here, their midfielders should see more of the ball. Can they create a little more this time around?
Star Man – Dan James
Looked like Wales’ best player in their first game, using his pace to stretch the Swiss defence.
Should be a fairly even game
Better atmosphere inside the stadium
Turkey must avoid defeat
Although this is the second game of the group, it’s unlikely that this will be an open, free-flowing one.
There is much at stake for both of these teams, and the first thought once again will be “do not lose”. For Turkey, a loss would be catastrophic. For Wales, it would be far from ideal as well.
If either side can gain victory, it would be a huge boost for their qualification chances, but it’ll be tight.
Turkey 1-1 Wales
