Sports Mole previews Monday’s Nations League clash between Turkey and Iceland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Turkey will be aiming to secure their first victory of their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign when they welcome Iceland to Izmir on Monday night.
The hosts opened their League B Group 4 challenge with a goalless draw against Wales on Friday, while Iceland recorded a 2-0 victory over Montenegro courtesy of goals from Orri Oskarsson and Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson.
Match preview
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Turkey enjoyed a successful Euro 2024, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition before losing to the Netherlands, and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future due to a number of talented youngsters.
However, Vincenzo Montella‘s side were held to a goalless draw by Wales in their 2024-25 Nations League opener on Friday, and they had Baris Alper Yilmaz sent off in what was a frustrating affair.
The Crescent-Stars played in Group C in the 2022-23 Nations League, finishing top of Group 1 ahead of Luxembourg, Faroe Islands and Lithuania, in order to gain promotion to League B.
Turkey will be back in Nations League action against Montenegro and Iceland in October, and they will fancy their chances of finishing at the top of this section considering their recent development.
The national side have faced Iceland on 13 previous occasions, and they have only actually won twice, with Iceland unbeaten in the last four games between the two nations.
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The last two meetings between the two sides took place during qualification for Euro 2020, with Iceland winning 2-1 at home before the points were shared in a goalless draw in the reverse clash.
Iceland were not present at Euro 2024, losing 2-1 to Ukraine in their playoff final, but they recorded a standout 1-0 victory over England in a friendly at the start of June.
Age Hareide‘s side made an impressive start to their 2024-25 Nations League challenge, beating Montenegro 2-0 on Friday evening courtesy of goals from Oskarsson and Thorsteinsson.
The result has left them at the top of Group 4 of League B on three points, and they are also a side to be watched in the coming years due to the presence of a number of talented young players.
Iceland are aiming to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since January, and another victory here would leave them in a strong position ahead of their October games with Wales and Turkey.
Turkey Nations League form:
Turkey form (all competitions):
Iceland Nations League form:
Iceland form (all competitions):
Team News
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Turkey will have to work around the absence of Yilmaz on Monday, as the attacker is suspended due to the red card that he was handed in the goalless draw with Wales last time out.
That said, it should be a relatively easy fix, as Arda Guler played as a false nine during stages of Euro 2024, and he could move into that role, with Hakan Calhanoglu coming into the side.
The rest of the team is likely to be unchanged, with head coach Montella set to keep faith with a five-man defence, and he will be asking for more output from his wing-backs in this encounter.
As for Iceland, head coach Hareide is unlikely to find a good enough reason to shuffle his pack considering the impressive nature of the result and performance last time out.
Oskarsson, who plays his club football for Real Sociedad, scored his third international goal last time out, and the 20-year-old is once again expected to lead the line.
Thorsteinsson is another certain starter for Iceland in an attacking position, while there should be a spot at right-back for Birmingham City’s Alfons Sampsted.
Turkey possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Celik, Ayhan, Soyuncu, Bardakci, Muldur; Calhanoglu, Kokcu, Yuksek, Yildiz; Guler
Iceland possible starting lineup:
Valdimarsson; Sampsted, Hermansson, Gretarsson, Tomasson; Anderson, Gudmundsson, Thordason, Thorsteinsson; G Sigurdsson; Oksarsson
We say: Turkey 1-1 Iceland
This is a very intriguing match, as Turkey will be aiming for their first win in the section, but Iceland were impressive last time out. It could go either way, with a narrow victory certainly a possibility, but we are struggling to separate them here and have ultimately settled on a low-scoring draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
