Wales take on the visitors Turkey in the round 1 match of UEFA Nations League group stage. The match will be played on Friday, September 6th at Cardiff City Stadium (Cardiff).
Wales looks uncertain without Bale. The "Dragons" struggled even with Gareth Bale during the last Nations League campaign, which saw them relegated to Division B after finishing last in the top tier. At that time, their focus was on the World Cup, their first since the mid-20th century. However, they showed some decent results in the Euro format. Without their longtime leader, the Welsh only managed to collect 12 points from 8 qualifying matches. Then, in the spring during the Nations League, after thrashing Finland, they lost to Poland in a decisive home match on penalties. Now, the experienced Rob Page has been replaced by Craig Bellamy, a well-known former striker but a very inexperienced coach — it will be interesting to see how he performs in his new role.
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Turkey also appeared in the previous Euro tournament, but they flopped, failing to earn a single point. Soon after, Stefan Kuntz took charge, seemingly stabilizing the team but failing to qualify them for the World Cup after a playoff loss, raising doubts about their Euro chances. A year ago, Kuntz was replaced by Vincenzo Montella, who had previously done well at the club level in Turkey. His appointment proved to be a smart choice: Montella began with victories that secured Turkey's early qualification, followed by impressive results in friendlies. Most notably, in Germany this summer, despite a painful loss to Portugal, Turkey defeated Georgia and the Czech Republic, and then, in the Round of 16, a Demiral brace knocked Austria out. Unfortunately, they lost to the Netherlands afterward, with a heartbreaking own goal in the second half deciding the match.
The teams have faced each other since 1978, with mixed results. In the Euro qualifiers, the "Janissaries" won at home and drew 1-1 in Cardiff. The odds see this matchup as evenly balanced. Turkey will likely lack the momentum they had during the Euro, and they tend to be modest when playing away. Therefore, a bet on "under 2.5 goals" looks promising.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
