Euro 2020: Awaiting Turkey's Fate Against Wales, Win Or Crash?

Turkey's mainstay Hakan Calhanoglu (Twitter @euro2020)

JAKARTA - Turkey will end its history if it loses again against Wales in its second match at the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan, Wednesday at 23.00 WIB, after a 0-3 defeat to Italy in the opening match of Euro 2020. To that end, Turkey's main mission is to beat Wales.

"We spent two terrible days after the match against Italy", said Turkey captain Burak Yilmaz as quoted by Reuters. "Together with the support of the fans and the unity of the team, we are now back on our feet and focused on our goals".

The problem is Wales is not an easy opponent, especially since they have beaten Turkey three times. On the other hand, Turkey has beaten Wales twice in their previous six meetings.

Wales also has a deadly attacking team, not only because of Gareth Bale, but also Cardiff City striker Kieffer Moore who scored the goal that saw them draw Switzerland 1-1 in the first game. Moore is certain to overthrow Harry Wilson as Wales' starting line-up.

And Wales will be very comfortable if they get their first win in this Euro round because it will open up wide opportunities to jump to the knockout round. So, this is a battle of fate as is usually the second match in the group stage.

Other than that Wales was prepared because they knew Turkey would vent their anger, swallowed whole by Italy, on them. "Turkey has missed a very difficult opening game and will take it out on us to get the three points. We are fully prepared for this tough game", said Wales coach Robert Page.

Technically, and their history of previous encounters being relatively balanced, both teams have evenly matched prospects. Their chances of winning are as great as their chances of a draw.

They are also experienced in how to move past the group stage because both of them have done it before, even being semi-finalists at the Euros.

Before this, Turkey had been to the Euro finals four times, each in 1996 and 2016 when they only reached the group stage, 2000 when they reached the quarter-finals, and 2008 when they reached the semifinals. On the other hand, Wales have only played once in 2016 and on their debut, they made it to the semifinals.

Given their relatively balanced record, perhaps non-technical factors will be the determining factor between them. And Turkey feels that it has that factor because it will perform in front of an audience of Azerbaijanis who share the same family and culture as Turkey, apart from having close historical links.

Azerbaijan, which borders Turkey in the east, will be easily reached by Turkish citizens who have confirmed coming in thousands to Baku. They will join the 30,000 home supporters who tend to support Turkey.

Wales put aside this spectator factor, even though the 8,782 people who watched the atmosphere of Wales against Switzerland were very different from the atmosphere of at least 30,000 people who watched Turkey against Wales.

Wales defender who is also a Liverpool defender, Neco Williams, even assessed that supporters who were hostile to his team in the stadium during the match were still better than playing in a silent stadium without spectators.

“The return of the fans to the stadium will make you more motivated. "If it becomes more visible as an away game then that will motivate us too, help ensure we win in front of their fans", said Williams.

Statistics

This is the first time Turkey and Wales have met in a major football tournament, but actually, they have met six times.

Turkey and Wales have previously met six times. Turkey won twice, while Wales three times. The last time they met was in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers where Turkey won 6-4.

Turkey has lost their opening seven games in a major tournament but managed to avoid losing their second game in the last three Euros.

Six of the seven goals Wales have scored during the previous Euro finals have come in the first half.

​Wales are unbeaten in their last six Euro matches.

Wales drew 1-1 against Switzerland in their Euro 2020 opener, Turkey lost 0-3 against Italy in their Euro 2020 opener.