Analyzing the performance of Türkiye vs Portugal
Despite going through a 5-match winless streak in all competitions and having a record of losing opening matches in the last 5 EUROs, Türkiye started the EURO 2024 campaign with an impressive victory over Georgia. However, coach Montella admitted after the match that his team needs to “finish more accurately” because “you won’t always be lucky enough to miss so many opportunities” in the next matches – Turkey Turkey only had 8 out of 22 shots on target.
Ranked 40th in the world according to FIFA rankings, Türkiye has only lost 2 of the last 15 official matches (winning 10, drawing 3) and can definitely advance to the 1/8 round of EURO 2024 if they win first. Portugal. However, it should be noted that they have never defeated Portugal at EURO, not even scoring any goals in all 3 previous meetings.
In contrast to Türkiye, Portugal went through the EURO 2024 qualifiers perfectly with a winning record. However, the Selecao also had a heart-stopping moment in the opening match of Group F against the Czech Republic when the opponent suddenly took the lead in the 62nd minute thanks to Lukas Provod’s beautiful long-range shot. Fortunately, the bravery of the European Selecao showed up at the right time when they successfully came back, especially with Francisco Conceicao’s decisive goal in stoppage time.
Keeping only one clean sheet in the last 6 international matches may make coach Martinez a bit worried. However, the European Selecao are still confident of winning against Türkiye because they have won all 6 recent meetings in official tournaments, scoring at least 2 goals in 4 of those matches.
Türkiye vs Portugal
Latest Turkish vs Portuguese force information
Türkiye is the second team in EURO history to field a main squad with two teenage players (Guler and Kenan Yildiz, 19 years old). Both are expected to continue starting in the match against Portugal. Captain Hakan Calhanoglu will play in the central midfield position alongside Kaan Ayhan. However, coach Montella may consider replacing Ayhan with Salih Ozcan or Okay Yokuslu.
In defense, Zeki Celik and Merih Demiral both want to return to the main squad. However, the back four of Muldur, Samet Akaydin, Abdulkerim Bardakci and Ferdi Kadioglu could still be kept intact. At number 10, Orkun Kokcu can continue to be trusted instead of Yusuf Yazici.
On the Portuguese side, coach Martinez can continue to use the 3-4-3 formation like the match against the Czech Republic. This means that Nuno Mendes will play left-back in a three-back formation with Pepe and Ruben Dias, while Diogo Dalot and Joao Cancelo will play wing-back. Vitinha had an excellent performance in the previous match and is expected to keep his place in midfield with Bruno Fernandes, leaving Joao Palhinha, Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves to continue on the bench.
At the age of 39, Ronaldo is aiming to become the oldest scorer in EURO history. He will lead the attack with Bernardo Silva on the right and Rafael Leao on the left.
Expected lineup Türkiye vs Portugal
Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ (4-2-3-1): Gunok; Muldur, Akaydin, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Ozcan, Calhanoglu; Guler, Kokcu, Yildiz; Yilmaz