Turkey take on the visitors Romania in semifinal match of FIFA World Cup promotion. The match will be played on Thursday, March 26th at Tupras Stadium (Istanbul).
Turkey brought in Montella in the middle of the Euro qualification campaign. He not only guided his side directly to the continental tournament ahead of schedule, but also made a strong impression in Germany in 2024, reaching the quarter-finals with lively, emotional, and effective football. Then came the Nations League, where they narrowly let first place in the group slip away to Wales, but a year ago in the playoffs they beat Hungary confidently in both matches, scoring 6 goals across the two games while conceding only once. In the World Cup qualifiers, meanwhile, there was simply an opponent too strong in Spain. La Furia Roja won the group with 16 points, but the Turks were also impressive, winning all of their matches against Georgia and Bulgaria and trying to keep the race alive at least formally — in the end, they closed the campaign with a 2-2 away draw on the Spaniards’ pitch. Their recent results also show that this team are usually reliable at home and know how to keep the pressure on opponents over the full ninety minutes.
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Romania will try to spring a surprise. The “Tricolours” were not especially highly rated. But at last year’s Euros, after opening with a crushing win over Ukraine, they still managed to reach the playoffs. After that, the vastly experienced Lucescu took charge. He delivered a perfect record in the Nations League, though with the caveat of one technical victory. The team did not look nearly as convincing in the World Cup qualifiers. They finished behind not only Austria, who won the group, but also Bosnia, managing just 4 wins and 13 points in 8 matches, so they reached the March playoffs only thanks to their earlier Nations League results. On top of that, the 80-year-old coach had serious heart problems. He seems to have recovered by the spring, but it remains unclear whether he is really ready to work at full intensity. Recent performances suggest Romania can still stay competitive in tight games, but they have not looked consistent enough against stronger opposition.
These national teams have been facing each other since the middle of the last century and their overall record is almost even. In the last four head-to-head matches, they have two wins each, both at home and away. All the key advantages are with the “Janissaries.” The pick here is for Turkey to win at home.
Prediction for the match: Turkey to win.
