Turkey take on the visitors Croatia in the round 2 match of UEFA Euro 2024 qualification. The match will be played on Tuesday, March 28th at Timsah Arena (Bursa).
Turkey have experienced several painful setbacks. There was the relegation to Division C of the UEFA Nations League, and the worst result of all 24 participants in the previous European Championship. After that, Stefan Kuntz became the coach. The German, a former football player who previously coached the German "youth team," initially demonstrated more than worthy results. He finished second in his group in the World Cup qualifiers. And in last year's UEFA Nations League, he secured first place early by winning all 4 of his first matches. On the other hand, the Turks could not qualify for the World Cup, losing 1-3 to Portugal on their field in the first round of playoffs. They then crushed underdogs - Faroe Islands, Lithuania, and Luxembourg. In general, the team should have demonstrated its potential now, in the current qualifiers. It began with a trip to Yerevan, to a principled opponent - Armenia. There, Kabak made his team's task more difficult with an early own goal. But in the end, they managed to achieve a determined 2-1 away win.
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Croatia have entered a very narrow list of national teams that have won "medals" in two consecutive World Cups. After their maximum success on Russian fields, reaching the final and winning the "silver," the team had to undergo a serious renewal of the lineup. It didn't fall off significantly, but it wasn't particularly successful in Euro 2020 either, and in the World Cup qualifiers, they only managed to definitively defend their leadership from the claims of Valery Karpin's wards in the last round. But it is necessary to note Zlatko Dalic's skill, which he demonstrated last year: he rebuilt the team anew for the main tournament of the 4-year cycle and brought it to its peak. The "warm-up" took place in the UEFA Nations League, where the Croats managed to win the group, which included such difficult opponents as Denmark and France, as well as Austria, with whom they started 0-3 at home. But by winning all 4 of their last matches, it was the "Chequered Ones" who ultimately topped the quartet. Then there was the trip to Qatar - less confident than in 2018 and not as successful, but ultimately bringing victory in the "consolation final" and "bronze." The team, now without Lovren and Vrsaljko, started the new year in Split with Wales. There, they clearly wanted to take 3 points "on class," thanks to the only goal - but the Welsh managed to respond just before the final whistle.
In the first 7 head-to-head matches, Croatia never lost to Turkey in regular time (although they once lost on penalties in Euro 2008), and only in 2017, during the World Cup qualification, the "Janissaries" won at home with a minimum score. There was only one friendly match after that, which ended in a 3-3 draw. Croatia will be the favorites, but the "Janissaries" have clearly gained good form. So, we can expect an exciting match with "total over 2.5 goals scored".
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
