The Turkish national football team started the Nations League with a mandatory victory. In Istanbul, coach Stefan Kuntz’s team defeated the world number 124. Faroe Islands 4-0 (1-0). It was Turkey’s first win after two recent defeats. In March, the team lost their chance of a World Cup ticket with a 3-1 loss to Portugal.
Cengiz Ünder (37th), Halil Dervisoglu (47th), ex-Darmstadt player Serdar Dursun (82nd) and Merih Demiral (85th) scored for the hosts on Saturday evening. After fourth place in the last Nations League season, the Kuntz team only starts in League C, the third highest division. In Group I with the Faroe Islands, Luxembourg and Lithuania, the Turks are the big favourites.
Turkey, with new Dortmunder Salih Özcan coming on after 65 minutes, struggled with the guests’ defensive system for a long time. In the 37th minute it was Cengiz Ünder who flicked a ball over Faroe goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen from almost 30 meters into the goal.
At the beginning of the second half, the favorites broke through the defensive bulwark of the football dwarf for the second time, Dervisoglu’s goal finally put Kuntz and Co. on course for victory. Dursun and Demiral boosted the result with their goals.