The prospects of qualifying for the Euro 2024 tournament were dealt another blow on Monday when Wales was defeated by Turkey by a score of 2-0, capping off a terrible week for Rob Page’s squad.
Substitutes After Joe Morrell was sent off just before halftime, Turkey was able to make the most of their man advantage by getting goals from Umut Nayir and Arda Guler in the closing 18 minutes of the game.
The pressure that is being put on Page has increased as a result of Wales’ loss at home to Armenia by a score of 4-2 on Friday. This loss has left Wales needing to make up ground if they are to qualify for a third consecutive European Championship.
After this win, Turkey is now five points ahead of Wales, who are now in fourth position, in Group D of qualification, with the top two teams sealing a spot in Germany during the summer of 2019.
As a direct result of Wales’ dismal performance in the World Cup, the nation’s subsequent 12 matches have resulted in just one victory for Wales.
They have had a player sent off for the third time in the last six games because of poor discipline, and Morrell caught Ferdi Kadioglu with his studs four minutes before half-time, which resulted in Morrell receiving a red card. This bad record is partially attributable to that.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty was saved by Danny Ward, and Turkey had two goals disallowed before they were ultimately able to break the stalemate.
This time, the header that Nayir attempted to make with his foot was too powerful for Ward, and the Leicester goalkeeper could only deflect the ball into his own net.
After that, with just ten minutes remaining, Guler won the competition with a fantastic curling shot that went into the top corner.