Turkey vs Croatia

Timsah Arena forms the backdrop for a handsomely-looking Euro 2024 qualifier between Turkey and Croatia.

Turkey fought from behind to dispatch Armenia on the road in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier, making it three consecutive 2-1 wins following back-to-back winless matches at the tail-end of last summer’s UEFA Nations League (D1, L1). Keen to qualify for a third consecutive European Championship and provide some joy to those back home after the country’s devastating earthquakes last month, the ‘Crescent-Stars’ have plenty of reason for optimism. Not only are Stefan Kuntz’s men unbeaten in five consecutive home internationals (W4, D1), but they overcame Croatia 1-0 in their most recent competitive H2H on home turf. But it’s worth noting that victory only served to snap their dreadful four-game winless run against the ‘Blazers’ in competitive football prior (D2, L2).

Meanwhile, Croatia suffered a late heartache in their Group D curtain-raiser as Wales scored a 93rd-minute equalizer to hold the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists to a 1-1 draw in Split. Despite starting their Euro 2024 qualifying on the back foot, the ‘Blazers’ are still heavily fancied to gain a sixth consecutive European Championship appearance as a sovereign country. Zlatko Dalic’s men have gone from strength to strength on foreign soil since exiting Euro 2020, racking up an eye-catching seven wins on eight travels (D1). Defensively robust, they managed six clean sheets during that eight-game sequence, with three of their last four away wins yielding a narrow 1-0 scoreline.