Unfashionable Turks can upstage Croatia
Turkey’s second-half showing in the dramatic 3-2 win over the Czech Republic on Sunday showed they are the real deal. Fatih Terim’s men now face a classy Croatia side in the quarter-finals on Friday and soccer betting fanatics shouldn’t rule out another upset.
Turkey’s first two games were far from convincing, despite beating Switzerland 2-1 in their second clash, but on Sunday in Geneva Terim’s men came of age.
After a poor first half and trailing 1-0 at the interval Turkey went 2-0 behind against the run of play, but the Turks kept their composure and delivered when it mattered. Three goals in the final 15 minutes is no mean feat but Turkey were full value for the win after pinning the Czechs on the backfoot with crisp and accurate passing.
Turkey teams of the past would have lost their discipline at 2-0 down, just look at the debacle against Switzerland in the World Cup play-off in 2005 when a mass brawl erupted, but Terim seems to have instilled a strength and self-belief in his squad.
Croatia will be tough quarter-final opponents having racked up three straight wins en route to winning Group A, but they are not invincible and may well be surprised by Turkey’s techical ability.
Slaven Bilic’s men are many pundits’ dark horses for the tournament and they are the 2.04 favourites on Betfair to dispose of Turkey in 90 minutes.
But Turkey are a resilient bunch and will prove tricky opposition for a Croatia team which may now start to miss the goalscoring prowess of Eduardo.
Ivica Olic, Ivan Klasnic and Mladen Petric have all played up front for Croatia so far and although they work hard, especially Olic, none of the trio look top class.
Their midfield has been cruising through the tournament, while the back four have yet to be tested.
Turkey this time around have forward players with undoubted ability and Arda Turan, Tuncay Sanli and two-goal hero Nihat Kahveci can cause Croatia problems.
At 27.0 to win the title Turkey look decent value but the safer bet for football betting professionals is to back the Turks to qualify - the equivalent of a two-horse race - at a tasty-looking 2.8.
By Phil Tomlinson
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