Wales and Turkey are set to face off on the second matchday In the UEFA Nations League campaign. Both of the teams will be motivated to win on Friday after only obtaining a single point each at Euro 2024. Wales and Turkey face off at Cardiff City Stadium before tough games against Iceland and Montenegro, two other League B Group 4 opponents.
Wales vs. Turkey: Preview
A new chapter in Welsh football sees Wales take on Turkey at Cardiff City Stadium in the opening matchday of the UEFA Nations League. This is also another reunion for Craig Bellamy as head coach of Wales after underachieving saw the Dragons relegated from League A and not doing well in both the World Cup and European Championship campaigns.
They take on a Turkey full of running and high on the back of an impressive Euro 2024 campaignᅳkeen to use that buoyancy on into the Nations League following promotion to this level. These two had contrasting fortunes over the summer, so this sets up an intriguing battle for Wales: starting their rebuilding process under new management, and for Turkey to continue the upward trend instigated by Vincenzo Montella.
Wales vs. Turkey: Team News & Stats
Now bossed by the new manager Craig Bellamy, Wales will try to head back towards winning ways after some truly damning results. While Bellamy’s appointment might seem a little unusual, as he has never managed at a senior management level, his energy and experience as a former Wales striker, with 78 caps, could be just what the squad needs to refresh things. Aaron Ramsey retains the captaincy of the side, while Leeds United’s Karl Darlow also receives his first cap in place of injured goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
The injuries to Dan James and Wes Burns, though, have meant Bellamy will indeed have to name a reshuffled lineup, while the absence of experienced middlemen – led by Joe Morrell and Rubin Colwill – offer his kids an open invitation to room. Of late, Wales have been very inconsistent, having won just once in the last six matches, drawing two and losing two. That draw against Gibraltar and heavy defeat at the hands of Slovakia in the summer friendlies told everything about how things were bad under the previous lot of management.
Turkey comes into this fixture in high spirits, with an even better campaign in Euro 2024, having lost their only match during the quarterfinals against the Netherlands. Montella’s team is packed with brilliant young talents. The wingers Kenan Yildiz and Arda Guler were great throughout the Euros. In place of the injured Ferdi Kadioglu, while Bertug Yildirim and Merih Demiral picked up suspensions,
Turkey still can parade a very formidable lineup led by the 90-cap skipper Hakan Calhanoglu. To be fair, Turkey’s form has been pretty erratically inconsistent, their last few games were a mix of wins and losses to piece together something good. But experience at Euro 2024 and a promising attacking crop of players suggest they are quite formidable opponents.
Wales vs. Turkey: Head-to-Head
The clashes of the previous years were more balanced with Turkey. In their last two European Championship qualification campaigns, the two teams met four times, and as time passed, it went to a head-to-head record slightly towards Turkey, having two wins, one draw, and one defeat. Their last clash was less than a year ago when both teams played out a 1-1 draw in Cardiff.
Wales vs. Turkey: Possible Starting XI
Wales: Ward (GK); Mepham, Rodon, Davies; Roberts, James, Ampadu, Williams; Ramsey, Johnson; Moore
Turkey: Gunok (GK); Muldur, Ayhan, Bardakci, Elmali; Yokuslu, Calhanoglu; Yildiz, Kokcu, Guler; B. Yilmaz
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