The second round of the EURO 2020 group stage kicks off on Wednesday. In Group A, Turkey will take on Wales trying to shake off a 3-0 defeat suffered against Italy.
Bookmaker 10Bet has the odds at 1.90 for Turkey to start the scoring here while the odds for Wales to score first are at 2.40. You can back a goalless draw with the odds at 6.00.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 15th, 7:30 A.M. (EST)
Turkey were thoroughly outclassed by Italy, but they have only themselves to blame for it. Manager Senol Günes picked a very negative set-up for the match and when Merih Demiral scored an own goal to give the Italians the lead, the floodgates to open were ignited.
Italy ended up outshooting Günes’ team 24-3 and Turkey failed to muster a single shot on target. It was a very disappointing performance from a side that always looks capable of providing a shock or two at major tournaments.
Luckily for the Crescent Stars, they can still salvage their tournament but there will be very little room for error left. The team has to be more confident in their ability and show more willingness to play an expansive style.
With the likes of Cengiz Ünder and Hakan Calhanoglu, there’s plenty of creativity in the side and simply sitting back and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake isn’t suitable for Turkey.
Ünder was used off the bench against Italy but there should be a strong chance that he starts here with the 23-year-old providing pace and trickery that could turn out to be key elements against a team that plays with a very defensive game plan.
Wales had nine attempts at goal in their opener against Switzerland, but their style of play was almost identical to the one Turkey used against the Italians. Manager Rob Page is a former central defender, and he knows a thing or two about stopping the opposition.
Page’s plan worked out well in the end, but Wales had to rely on a set-piece goal to get a 1-1 draw and the team created next to nothing from open play.
With Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale at his disposal, Page has very good tools to make the opposition stand on their toes, but Bale simply coasted through the opening outing and Ramsey wasn’t effective either with Switzerland having much more quality overall in midfield.
Wales was pretty fun to watch in the last Euros and the team had a nice run in the competition, but the current crop of players don’t look capable of repeating the success. Furthermore, it will be tough to impress against Turkey as well with the game being played in Baku where a large Turkish fan base is expected to show up.
