Turkey vs Portugal Preview & Prediction | UEFA EURO 2024 | Group Stage
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These two sides both kicked off their Group F campaigns with victories on Tuesday as Turkey held off an impressive Georgian side in Dortmund, whilst Portugal had to come from behind in Leipzig to defeat Czechia.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 22nd June, 2024 - UK – 2:00pm / US EST – 9:00am / US PST – 7:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – ITV / US – FOX
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – ITVX / US – VIX
TURKEY PREVIEW: FUN TO WATCH
After heading into UEFA EURO 2020 widely tipped as ‘ones to watch’ or potential ‘dark horses’, Turkey scored just one goal and lost all three matches in Group A of that tournament. This time around, though, they have got off to a winning start – and it is their first victory in the opening match of a UEFA European Championships ever.
Backed by a raucous Turkish-heavy crowd thanks to the immigration of many Turks into Germany, they got off to a flying start and led Georgia early on thanks to a volley from Mert Muldur. Georges Mikautadze fought back for the plucky and genuinely impressive footballing minnows before Arda Guler’s wonder goal and then a late clincher from Kerem Akturkoglu gave Turkey three points.
PORTUGAL PREVIEW: INTENSELY FRUSTRATING TO WATCH
Portugal, on the other hand, were quite tedious to watch. With former Everton and Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez opting to experiment with his formation and selection in the opening game of UEFA EURO 2024, the Portuguese laboured for much of their opener against Czechia and eventually found themselves behind thanks to an excellent strike from Lukas Provod.
Going behind, as it does so often with leading or stronger nations, sparked a bit of urgency from within the Portuguese ranks, though. They soon equalised when Nuno Mendes forced a mix-up between Jindrich Stanek and Robin Hranac before Francisco Conceicao notched a winner in second-half stoppage-time to spare their blushes.
TURKEY TEAM NEWS: SURING UP THE MIDFIELD
Turkey were excellent against Georgia but there is an expectation that Vincenzo Montella will look to tighten up the midfield against a strong Portuguese side. That will involve captain Hakan Calhanoglu playing in a more advanced role, whilst either Borussia Dortmund midfielder Salih Ozcan or Ismail Yuksek of Fenerbahce comes in alongside Kaan Ayhan.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Gunok; Muldur; Akaydin, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Ayhan, Ozcan; Guler, Calhanoglu, Yildiz; Yilmaz
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
PORTUGAL TEAM NEWS: EXPERIMENTAL LUSITANIANS
Roberto Martinez switched to a back three for their opener against Czechia and that involved Nuno Mendes playing as left-sided centre-back. Whilst he performed well there, he was a lot more effective at wing-back and that would mean Goncalo Inacio or Antonio Silva comes into defence. Joao Felix is expected to get the nod over Rafael Leao alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-1-2): Costa; Dias, Pepe, Inacio; Vitinha; Cancelo, Fernandes, Silva, Mendes; Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
KEY STATS
- Portugal lead the head-to-head record between these two teams with seven wins to Türkiye’s two. None of their previous nine encounters finished level.
- Portugal won all the previous three EURO meetings without conceding a goal; 1-0 EURO 1996 group stage, 2-0 EURO 2000 quarter-finals and 2-0 EURO 2008 group stage.
- Türkiye have won their opening match in a EURO final tournament for the first time and are now aiming to win successive group matches for the only the second time. They previously did so in 2008 when they won their second and third matches against Switzerland and Czechia respectively.
- Only two of Türkiye’s previous 19 EURO matches have finished level.
- In their opening game, Türkiye had three different scorers in a EURO final tournament match for the first time.
- Türkiye started the match against Georgia with two teenagers Arda Güler (19) and Kenan Yıldız (19) making them only the second team to do so in EURO history after Hungary in 1964 against Denmark (Ferenc Bene and Zoltán Varga, both 19).
- Portugal have won 14 of their last 16 international matches (L2).
- Excluding penalty shoot-outs, Portugal have lost only two of their last 16 EURO matches (W8 D6).
- Portugal are aiming to start a EURO group with two successive wins for the third time. They previously did so in 2000 and 2008.
- Portugal have lost only four of their 25 EURO group stage matches (W14 D7).
- Only two of Portugal’s 25 EURO group stage matches have finished without a goal being scored.
- Portugal have only failed to score in one of their last ten EURO matches.
- Portugal have been losing at half-time in only one of their last 15 EURO group matches.
- Cristiano Ronaldo has not scored in his previous three international appearances against Türkiye.
TURKEY VS PORTUGAL PREDICTION
Turkey, if they do sure up the midfield, will believe they have enough tenacity and defensive awareness to be able to contend with and blunt what can be quite a slow Portuguese midfield in possession, especially with Roberto Martinez reportedly set to persist with his back three system. Portugal have an abundance of quality at the top end of the pitch and their substitutes against Czechia saved the day so should have enough to at least score but Montella and Turkey will believe the same is true of them, too.
TURKEY VS PORTUGAL TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
