Turkey defeated Croatia 1-0 in the 6th match of the 2024 European Football Championship Qualification Group D to take the lead of the group.
This was Turkey’s first away win against Croatia in history.
Barış Alper Yılmaz scored the only goal of the match in the 30th minute after breaking behind the Croatia back line and dinking the ball ver the opposition goalkeeper.
Barış Alper Yılmaz, love. ?? pic.twitter.com/ftOthqt6e4
— Galatasaray EN (@Galatasaray) October 12, 2023
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Turkiye pressed Croatia well, maintained discipline and hit the home side effectively on the counter attack.
It was an impressive display considering this was Vincenzo Montella’s first game in charge of the national team.
Montella made several changes to the side bringing in Uğurcan, Samet Akaydin, Abdülkerim, İsmail Yüksek, Barış Alper into the team.
The full lineup was as follows: Uğurcan, Ferdi, Samet, Abdülkerim, Cenk Özkacar, İsmail Yüksek, Salih Özcan, İrfan Can, Hakan, Kerem, Barış Alper
The changes made all the difference, the team were far more dynamic, hard working and well organised.
Turkiye played a very good game against Croatia and deserved their victory. They defended well and took their chance when it came.
This is a very important result for Turkey and it puts them in a good position to qualify for the European Championships.
Barış Alper had a great game and he scored a very important goal. He is a very talented player and he has a lot of potential.
Turkiye now has 13 points in the group, while Croatia is in second place with 10 points.
The Red Crescents will host Latvia in the 7th match of the group on Sunday, October 15.
