Portugal hosts Turkey in the World Cup qualification promotion semifinals. The match will be played on Thursday, March 24th at Estádio do Dragão (Porto)
Portugal ended up in the play-offs after finishing second in Group A. Fernando Santos's team scored 17 points but lagged behind Serbia. Selecao had every chance to advance to the World Cup directly but failed the final rounds of qualification in November last year. Having tied against Ireland away (0-0), Ronaldo and the company lost to the Serbs (1-2) and gave them a direct ticket to Qatar. The Portuguese national team, which has not missed the World Cup since 2002, has twice participated in the playoffs. In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Selecao broke the resistance of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-0 and 1-0), and four years later they eliminated Sweden (1-0 and 3-2).
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Turkey qualified for the playoffs from 2nd place in Group G. The Crescent Stars earned 21 points and were ahead of all competitors, except for the Netherlands. After a disastrous performance at Euro 2020 and September failures in the qualification, the federation said goodbye to head coach Senol Gunes and invited Stefan Kuntz to take his place. Under the management of the new helmsman, the Turkish national team scored 10 points in four matches thanks to a draw with Norway (1-1) and victories over Latvia (2-1), Gibraltar (6-0), and Montenegro (2-1). The Crescent Stars have not qualified for the World Cup since 2002. At that tournament, they sensationally won bronze medals. Then they were very close to promotion in the 2006 World Cup qualification but lost to Switzerland in the playoffs because of the away goal rule (0-2 and 4-2).
Although the Turkish national team has a good selection of players, it will be an outsider of the upcoming confrontation. The Portuguese have problems with the aging center of defense, but the other lines are full of players from the top European clubs. In addition, the home pitch plays in favor of Ronaldo and the company: the Turks are less dangerous away than at home. The Crescent Stars will face a top-level opponent for the first time under Kuntz. And they are experiencing problems in away matches against such teams. Last year, the Turks were hammered in the Netherlands (6-1), and Italy destroyed them in Rome at the last Euro (3-0). On the other hand, the Portuguese are pragmatic and focused on results. They should win, but they are unlikely to do it with a big score. In the next round, Selecao will most likely face Italy, so they can limit themselves to even a minimal victory in the upcoming game.
Prediction for the match: Portugal to win and Under 4.5 goals scored
