Turkey vs Portugal: Portugal eye more records, Turkey seek to overturn hoodoo
Both Turkey and Portugal will be vying for top spot in Group F when they lock horns on matchday two on Saturday. Each side come into this match having won their respective fixtures against Georgia and the Czech Republic respectively, but both teams had to work a bit harder than expected to achieve that result.
Turkey, who were on a bad patch of form leading up to this competition, were truly dealt a huge shock as they went a goal down to debutants Georgia. However, Vincenzo Montella’s men were able to restore parity, before scoring two more sans reply to secure a vital three points and put them in good stead to try to secure a round of 16 spot. Youngster Arda Guler wrote his name in the history books thanks to his stunning strike, which makes the 19-year-old the fifth youngest player ever to score at a Euro championship. In addition, the youngster, who is on the books at Real Madrid, interestingly became the first teenager to score on his Euro debut since none other than Cristiano Ronaldo did so back in 2004.
Speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo, the 39-year-old made history during Portugal’s match against the Czech Republic, alongside with veteran defender Pepe. Ronaldo is now the first player to feature at six Euro tournaments, having made his debut back in 2004, while Pepe is still going strong at 41, which makes him the oldest ever player to play in this competition. Both players were in the starting XI for Roberto Martinez’s men against the Czech Republic, and both, despite their advancing years, are expected to feature in Saturday’s match against Turkey.
Like Turkey, Portugal also had to come from a goal behind, but it did not take them long to restore parity. Less than 10 minutes later, they had pulled level following an awkward mix-up between Robin Hranac and shot-stopper Jindrich Stanek when the latter was unable to deal with Nuno Mendes’s header and instead parried it into his own teammate. Then, during extra time, Francisco Conceicao came off the bench to score the game winner in what surely will be an evening to remember for the rising star and his family, as the 22-year-old is the son of Portuguese icon Sergio Conceciao, who notably scored a hat-trick against Germany during the 2000 Euro competition.
Portugal and Turkey are no strangers to facing each other, especially in Euro tournaments. To date, Turkey have not had much luck when it comes to playing Portugal in this competition, as they have lost their last three encounters and are still hoping to score against their upcoming opponents for the first time. Given that both sides have struggled to keep clean sheets as of late, this game could be an open-ended affair as each team know that a win will certainly ensure that they not only progress to the round of 16, but will likely do so as group winners.
