World Cup 2018 qualifier: Croatia - Turkey 05 September 2016 20:45

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World Cup 2018 qualifier: Croatia - Turkey



The most attractive and thrilling game of the Monday World Cup 2018 qualifiers is likely to be that between Croatia and Turkey. These two sides met at the EURO 2016 in what was one of the most intensely-contested and emotionally-escalated affairs of the tournament. Back then in June, the Croatians had the upper hand in the fixture as they claimed a 1:0 over the Turks and they are favoured to win this time again but Turkey are hoping for a great avenge. Starting at 8:45 PM (CET), the Group I blockbuster Croatia versus Turkey will be played at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia.



Croatia



Prior to the EURO 2016, Croatia were largely considered a dark horse of tournament and they almost lived up to this expectation. They delivered a very confident and well-organized performance in the group stage, beating both Turkey (1:0) and the former champions Spain (2:1). The Balkan side also looked strong in their round of 16 clash against the later winners Portuguese but eventually, they lost to Ronaldo and co. after conceding an unfortunate late goal just a few minutes before the end of the extra time. Nevertheless, Croatia definitely proved their quality in France, impressing football fans from all over Europe with their attractive and creative game. The current Croatian squad have very good options in all posts but it is the midfield where they particularly stand out with players such as Rakitic, Modric, or Perisic forming what is one of the best midfield lines in all Europe. Croatia are the group´s biggest favourites and they should assert their authority in the Monday opener against Turkey.



Turkey



The Turks were extremely confident prior to the European Championship and they even declared they were only interested in medals but eventually, they had to leave the tournament as early as after the group stage. As the Turks lost both of their opening games against Spain (0:3) and Croatia (0:1), their final triumph over the Czech Republic (2:0) was not enough for them to qualify for the knock-out stage. After the disappointing campaign, the team´s coach Terim faced strong criticism from different angles, which made him even more motivated to produce a remarkable achievement at the upcoming World Cup. Turkey arranged one friendly game prior to the beginning of the qualification in which they drew with Russia (0:0). The current Turkish national team mainly consists of players from Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce Istanbul but several footballers from top European leagues such as the team´s captain Arda Turan from FC Barcelona and Calhanoglu from Bayer Leverkusen are also important members of the squad.



Summary



The Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb will witness what promises to be an exciting football clash as two implacable rivals Croatia and Turkey will battle it out in their World Cup 2018 qualifying opener. These two sides have met several times in the past few years and it was the Croatians who dominated most of those matches. Will they further improve their favourable record against the Turks? Or will Terim´s men avenge all the recent failures suffered at the hands of the Balkans? To find out, we will have to wait until Monday night.