Turkey currently sits at the top of the FIFA World Cup UEFA zone qualification Group G after four games.
The Crescent-Stars are first on eight points having already beaten Netherlands and Norway who are tied on seven points with Montenegro.
With that said, Turkey is also well-positioned on the top charts of the most popular betting sites and best betting apps. Since they got off to a great start, people have high expectations of them, but it is hard to forget the 2020 debacle.
Turkey finished bottom of Group A after failing to record a single point, conceding eight times and scoring just once.
Statistically, the Red Whites were the worst team in the entire tournament.
With the nation suffering collective PTSD after a traumatic summer of horrendous football the World Cup campaign has been a breath of fresh air.
But the same problems that plagued Turkey this summer have not dissipated.
Turkey got off to a great start against Montenegro in their first qualification game following the European Championships.
Cengiz Under was the star of the show bringing the rich vein of form he has found at his new club Marseille to the national team.
Underscored and provided an assist giving Turkey a two-goal lead.
His pace, technical ability, and willingness to run at opposition defenders gave Turkey an injection of explosiveness that had been sorely missing this summer.
Player for player Turkey does have a strong squad and a young one at that. Most of the starting teams play in the top five European leagues.
Caglar Soyuncu, Ozan Kabak and Ozan Tufan are Premier League players. Burak Yilmaz, Cengiz Under, Yusuf Yazici, Mehmet Zeki Celik, Dogan Alemdar are Ligue 1 players.
Okay Yokuslu and Enes Unal play La Liga while Hakan Calhanoglu, Merih Demiral, Kaan Ayhan and Mert Muldur star in Serie A. Then you have wonder kid Ali Akman at Bundesliga outfit Frankfurt scoring goals for fun in the Eredivisie and Feyenoord ace Orkun Kokcu.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many Turkish players coming through the ranks in leagues across Europe with more and more being snapped up by the top five leagues.
So what is the problem? well, manager Senol Gunes has to take the blame. He has all the ingredients but can’t put together a decent meal.
Turkey has on paper a strong defense but has been leaking goals like a sieve, already conceding seven in their World Cup qualifier group.
Gunes has built a team devoid of an identity, unable to keep possession, lacking ideas going forward, and unable to defend.
Turkey is top of the group through the individual brilliance of players. They are first despite Gunes holding the side back.
Yet again the head coach messed up with his tactics. Gunes decided to go ultra-defensive against a Montenegro side who the Turkish attack was dissecting with ease. The result was blowing a two-goal lead and being held to a draw.
Next Turkey faces Gibraltar who they should be able to beat with or without a manager. Then the big test is the Netherlands away from the following match.
Turkey has already beat the Netherlands in the group and the Dutch are not exactly firing on all cylinders either.
Gunes really needs to find some form or will risk blowing the chances of one of the best Turkish generations reaching the World Cup in Qatar.
Turkey is first but does not let that fool you. This team needs to find some cohesion. It does not look like Gunes will leave or that he will be fired. Hopefully, he does some soul searching and gets control of the team again or it will be another year of disappointment for Turkish football.
With that said, Turkey is also well-positioned on the top charts of the most popular betting sites and best betting apps. Since they got off to a great start, people have high expectations of them, but it is hard to forget the 2020 debacle.
