On Tuesday, the qualifiers for the European Championship, which will be held next year in Germany, finally conclude, and this time we have analyzed the duel to be played in Cardiff where the teams of Wales and Turkey will measure their strengths. The Turks have secured their place in the EURO as they are currently at the top of the table, while Wales, to reach the second place, must win tonight, but also hope for a favorable result in Zagreb where Croatia and Armenia will cross swords. The match in Cardiff is scheduled to start at 20:45, when, among other things, all the matches of the last round of the qualifiers will also begin.
Wales: If it weren’t for Armenia, Wales would have already secured a spot in the EURO!
All things considered, it gives the impression that the Welsh would have long since secured their place in the European Championship if they hadn’t been in a group with Armenia, who took as many as four points from them. Initially, Armenia, against all expectations, celebrated a 4-2 victory in Cardiff, and then, just a few days ago, the same team played a 1-1 draw against the Islanders, significantly complicating Wales’ situation regarding qualification for the EURO, which would have been practically certain had Rob Page’s men won that match. Apart from those two games, Wales has so far left a quite good impression, as evidenced by their current third place in the table, trailing second-placed Croatia by two points.
What is somewhat positive is that the Welsh have a better head-to-head record against the Croatians, so Zlatko Dalić’s team will need a victory in their last match against Armenia at home to secure the second position, which leads to qualification for the European Championship to be held next year in Germany. So far, coach Page’s squad has played seven matches in the qualifiers, achieving three victories, two draws, and as many losses. Before that unfortunate draw in the last round away at Armenia, this team had secured a victory against Croatia at home, and it seemed then that the Islanders had everything in their hands.
However, Wales is now in a situation where they no longer depend on themselves, as, besides needing a triumph in the last round against Turkey, they also need Croatia to draw or lose, which is really hard to expect, even though Armenia has shown certain quality in these qualifiers. At home, Wales has played three matches so far, achieving two victories along with the mentioned defeat to Armenia. The home team took an early lead in that match, but the guests managed to turn the score around by the end of the first half. Midway through the second half, Armenia led 3-1, the Welsh somehow managed to score a second goal, but then conceded a fourth, after which Mur received a red card, and it was already clear that the first home defeat in these qualifiers was inevitable. The second loss occurred away at Turkey, which has shown the most in this group, as evidenced by their first-place position and secured participation in the EURO. Interestingly, these two teams were in the same group in the last European Championship, where Wales won comfortably with a 2-0 score.
Turkey: The primary goal has already been achieved!
In the past few years, the Turkish national team has not distinguished itself, so it’s logical why the focus was on qualifying for the European Championship. It all started with a disastrous performance in the last EURO, where this team finished last in their group, competing against Wales, Switzerland, and Italy, the latter eventually winning the trophy. After being eliminated from the European Championship, it seemed that the Turks didn’t leave a much better impression in the World Cup qualifiers, as this team failed to qualify. To be fair, the former World Cup semi-finalist reached the playoffs, where Turkey was defeated away by Portugal with a score of 3:1, which was expected, as the Portuguese have been one of the best teams in the world for years.
After all this, the team turned its attention to the qualifiers for the upcoming European Championship, and when all is said and done, the primary goal has been achieved, as Turkey managed to secure a place in the final tournament with a round to spare. Currently, Vincenzo Montella’s team, who recently took over, is at the top of the table with a three-point lead over second-placed Croatia. In the last round, the former World Cup semi-finalist easily defeated Latvia 4:0 at home, and before that, Turkey also won away against Croatia, so we can confidently state that this team deservedly qualified for the European Championship to be held next year in Germany.
In seven matches played, the Turks have achieved five victories, one draw, and one loss at home against Croatia, with the only draw being at home against Armenia, ending 1:1, after which Stefan Kuntz was replaced by Montella, who, besides two victories in the qualifiers, also has a win in a friendly match against Germany, which is certainly a commendable achievement. Finally, in away games, Turkey has so far played three matches and achieved as many victories, and this time Montella might give a chance to some players who have had less playing time due to the already secured spot in the EURO.
Our Betting Suggestions
As we have already mentioned, only a triumph gives the Welsh some hope of making it to the European Championship, and considering that this team usually plays well at their home stadium in qualifiers for major tournaments, we advise you to try betting on Wales to win, which the Bet9ja bookmaker offers at odds of 2.40.
It’s quite possible that this match in Cardiff will also bring a lot of goals, so we suggest focusing on the over 2.5 goals market with odds of 2.00 at Bet9ja.
Finally, it’s very likely that the home team will score at least two goals in this duel, so we advise you to bet on the Wales over 1.5 goals bet, for which the Bet9ja bookmaker has prepared odds of 2.33.
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