Turkey 1-1 France
The Turkish football team managed to draw level against defending world champions France at their home pitch to stay atop of the Group H table in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Chelsea skipper Olivier Giroud continues to lead France with one of the best Euro 2020 highlights after putting in a header through an Antoine Griezmann corner kick, but it was followed up by a Kaan Ayhan goal few minutes later.
The draw gave Turkey the slight advantage in the group stages especially after winning against them the last time around with a 2-0 tally.
Iceland’s clean sheet against Andorra delayed both of Turkey and France’s qualification spots for next year’s tournament and they’ll have to win over their respective opponents in the next few fixtures to seal the deal. However, the Euro 2020 odds still favour both of them to still make it.
Both of these squads currently have 19 points apiece while Iceland, Albania, Andorra, and Moldova have 15, 12, three, and three respectively in the Group H table.
Today, SBOBET brings you some of the best highlights and noteworthy tidbits in this match.
Highlights of the game
Les Bleus were coming into the match with a huge disadvantage as they were missing some of their key players. They were missing the likes of Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Hugo Lloris, Aymeric Laporte, and N’Golo Kante.
However, even with those maladies for France, they still were formidable because they had the likes of Benjamin Pavard, Antoine Griezmann, and the ice cool super sub Olivier Giroud.
Moussa Sissoko had his first chance at a goal attempt via a header after a lovely cross towards inside the box, but it was blocked by Mert Gunok in what was an easy save.
The Tottenham Hotspur had another great chance on the 17th minute when he was inside the box wide open after a mad scramble of the ball. However, Gunok’s fast reflexes saved the day again for the Crescent Stars.
Gunok continued his exemplary play when Antoine Griezmann blazed past Turkish defenders and his foot got in a way of the Barca forward’s leftie strike.
France dominated possession for the most part as they had one chance after the other but they were unable to capitalise. Didier Deschamps’ side simply looked more energetic and inspired in this match.
Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz had his chance in the first half when he was racing fast at the right flank. But Steve Mandanda’s alertness to poke the ball away prevented any attempt from the struggling side of team boss Senol Gunes.
After a lacklustre first half, the Crescent Stars tried to make up for it by pushing the pace to a higher tempo. French defender Lucas Hernandez was given a yellow card after a dangerous tackle to Kenan Karamen for a free kick just outside the penalty area. Steve Mandanda, however, had a great save from that kick by Karamen.
With Turkey getting more possessions, the Crescent Stars almost broke the deadlock in the 59th minute, but the rocket of an attempt by Yilmaz was overcooked and the ball whizzed by over the goal post.
Griezmann continued to set the tone for France by constantly finding his teammates or trying to score for himself but Gunok’s superb goalkeeping was always in the way.
The game’s last 30 minutes become a slugfest as both teams looked tired and there were more errors than usual.
Everything changed, however, when Olivier Giroud came into the game for Les Bleus. Four minutes after he was subbed in, Giroud soared high for a clinical header that would put the home team on top, 1-0.
Five minutes later, it was Turkey’s own super sub that scored one goal. Similar to what happened earlier, Kaan Ayhan was at the right place and at the right time after a long volley via a free kick. Kaan’s header just narrowly went past the body of Mandanda to draw level with the world champions.
The match was essentially over at that point as both teams looked gassed and no other chances were created from there.
Key statistics
The home team pretty much dominated some of the match’s key statistics. Les Bleus had more possession (64-per cent), total shots (23), corners (10), and shots on target (9).
Buoyed by Griezmann’s ball handling wizardry, Didier Deschamps’ side almost doubled Turkey’s total passes with great accuracy (636 passes on 88-per cent accuracy).
Turkey’s fortress of a defence was in display once again as they’ve just conceded three goals in their eight qualifying games.
What’s next?
The Crescent Stars are going to face Iceland and Andorra in November needing a point to secure their Euro 2020 spot, while France host Moldova before flying over to Andorra needing points of their own as well.
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