Thanks to the lucky touch of their German coach Stefan Kuntz, Turkey has consolidated its lead in Group D in qualifying for the 2024 European Football Championship in Germany.
In Samsun, the Turks celebrated their second win in a row 2-0 (0-0) against Wales after almost 50 minutes outnumbered by goals from the jokers Umut Nayir (72nd) and Arda Güler (80th).
The hosts thus extended their lead over top-privileged Croatia to five points for the time being. However, the third in the World Cup has played two games less due to his participation in the final tournament of the Nations League.
Three days after jumping to the top of the table with a happy 3-2 win in Latvia, the Kuntz team started with Bundesliga professional Salih Özcan from runners-up Borussia Dortmund in the starting line-up.
Turkey’s players and fans were already celebrating a British own goal after nine minutes, but the goal was disallowed for offside. After that, the encounter became increasingly rough until the guests were outnumbered by a red card against Joe Morrell for gross foul play (41st).
After the change of sides, the Turks were unable to take advantage of their personal advantage for a long time. In addition, the Welsh continued to be dangerous through counterattacks.
After a missed penalty by ex-Bundesliga star Hakan Calhanoglu (64′) and another goal denial through video evidence following a goal by substitute Nayir (69′), the home side seemed almost to despair before Nayir scored the redeeming goal shortly afterwards . Güler (80th) made the decision as the second joker.