TURKEY – LUXEMBOURG | Thursday, 20:45
Four victories in as many matches for Turkey in League C Group 1: an almost total and unchallenged domination that of the selection led by German Stefan Kuntz, who are now very close to returning to League B. The relegation of a year ago had caused a stir and, as was easily guessed, against ‘lesser’ national teams such as Luxembourg, the Faroe Islands and Lithuania, the Turks encountered no resistance and the huge gap came out in practically every match. Calhanoglu and his teammates were thus able to heal the great wound caused by the failure to qualify for Qatar 2022. Due to an unfavourable draw, Turkey had been drawn in the first round of the play-offs with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, who prevailed in Lisbon last March with a clear 3-1 victory.
Turkey have therefore been on a roll, scoring a whopping 14 goals – six of them against poor Lithuania alone – and not conceding a single one. The match against Luxembourg can deliver them arithmetic promotion without even waiting for the next challenge against the Faroe Islands: one point is enough to reach the goal. Luxembourg had already been beaten (0-2) in June with goals from Calhanoglu and Dursun. In any case, Luc Holtz’s men are on a positive path, as they are one of the ‘small’ teams that has made the most progress in recent years, the result of a project that has been going on for a long time.
Luc Holtz
The Prediction
TTurkey should also be able to take this one home despite the heavy absence of midfield player Calhanoglu. Luxembourg is a team that makes compactness one of its greatest strengths but at the same time struggles in ball possession. It is therefore highly likely that the Turks will also keep their goal unbroken.
Turkey-Luxembourg
- TURKEY (4-2-3-1): Bayindir; Celik, Kabak, Ayhan, Kadioglu; Kahveci, Kokcu; Under, Dervisoglu, Akturkoglu; Dursun.
- LUSSEMBOURG (4-3-3): Moris; Da Graca, Chanot, Carlson, Pinto; Barreiro, Gerson, Thill; Bohnert, Sinani, Rodrigues.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-0
