Turkey v Wales: Nations League – live

45 min +3: In other naked-eye-misinformation news, Rodon wasn’t whacked on the nose. Like Harris, he’s taken a bash to the brow, though blood has been drawn. Thankfully he’s good to continue, having presumably passed concussion checks, but he’s now wearing a very large bandage around his head.

45 min +1: Harris is back up, sporting quite the shiner.

45 min: Harris was only just offside in the build-up to that disallowed goal. The gap looked much bigger to the naked eye, so that’s the power of VAR for you. There will be five additional first-half minutes. Probably more, because Rodon is still receiving treatment.

43 min: Harris and Rodon stick the nut on each other while competing for a high ball. Ooyah, oof, that looked super-painful, and poor Rodon looks to have come off significantly worse. Think his team-mate caught him on the bridge of the nose there. Some of the red stuff already seeping through his fingers. On come the medical folk.

41 min: Harris is sent scampering down the right. He cuts back for James, who sweeps into the net from 12 yards! But it’s not going to be a goal, because the assistant referee has put her flag up. The end of the move wasn’t initially televised, either, because the Turkish director stayed on the official rather than following the action, just so everyone knew what was what. Everyone doing their bit. Replays showed, etc., and so on.

39 min: There’s a VAR check over the Aktürkoğlu incident, but it’s not a penalty.

37 min: Akgün is sent scampering into acres down the right by Güler’s sprayed pass. He looks for Aktürkoğlu in the middle. Aktürkoğlu is barged by Davies and clanks into Darlow. He wants a penalty as Wales clear their lines and counter. He’s not getting one. Up the other end, Wilson nearly gets on the end of Johnson’s clever pass down the right, but Günok races out of his box to bash away from danger.

35 min: This is a greased piglet of a match. Çalhanoğlu crosses from the left. Yılmaz wins a header but can’t get any power on it. Darlow claims. Williams goes down in search of breath. A brief pause.

33 min: Aktürkoğlu splits the Welsh back line in two with a simple pass down the middle. Akgün is clear, one on one with Darlow! He has to score … but Darlow spreads himself large, and smothers the shot! What a save. Turkey redouble their efforts, Çalhanoğlu winning a corner down the left. Nothing comes of that.

31 min: In totally contradictory news, Thomas bombs down the left at warp speed. He reaches the edge of the Turkey box, thinks about shooting, tries to slip Wilson in on the overlap instead, and gets it all wrong. A fine opportunity wasted. A shame after such a blistering run.

30 min: James attempts to take a quick throw. His manager tells him in no uncertain terms to slow things down so his team-mates can take a breather. There’s gung-ho, and there’s looking for trouble.

29 min: Demiral tries to spring Aktürkoğlu clear down the inside-left channel with a long pass, but overhits it. Just as well for Wales, who were wide open there.

27 min: This game is fair flying by. Now Wales faff about at the back, gifting Çalhanoğlu the opportunity to shoot from distance. His effort is deflected, and nothing comes of the corner that results.

26 min: … so having said that, Wilson romps down the left and crosses long for Johnson, who can’t control at the far stick. Had he managed to do so, he’s have been shooting at goal from six yards, unopposed, with just the keeper to beat.

25 min: The corner from the left is worked long. Akgün shoots from a tight angle on the right. Another corner. This one’s laid off to Güler, who can’t find anyone with a cutback from the right. Wales hanging on a bit here.

24 min: Güler has a bash from distance. The shot’s deflected wide right, where Müldür picks up possession. He crosses low and hard, forcing Roberts to slide in and hook behind with red shirts lurking. Another corner, and Turkey are really cranking up the pressure here.

23 min: Nothing comes from the set piece. But once again Turkey barely draw breath before launching another attack, snaffling the ball from a Wales throw, Yılmaz then running slap-bang into Roberts, 30 yards from goal. Free kick.

22 min: Yılmaz, tight on the left touchline and spotting Darlow out of position, takes an outrageous shy at goal. The shot nearly creeps into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle, as well. Darlow does pretty well to spot the danger, adjust, and turn the ball out for a corner.

20 min: Some broad-brush comedy as Kökçü cuts in from the left and drives a low shot goalwards, only for it to ping off the heel of his own player Aktürkoğlu and out for a goal kick. Turkey come again, and Aktürkoğlu, clearly frustrated, opens his body and sends a shot into the top-left corner of the stand behind the goal. That was wild.

18 min: Güler tries to release Yılmaz down the inside-right channel with an ambitious raking pass; Yılmaz nearly reaches it as well, but Davies sticks out a leg to intercept. That was a crucial intervention. Wales counter, and Williams crosses from the left; by the far stick, Demiral calmly chests back to his keeper. More end-to-end fun.

16 min: … and now Demiral has a whack from long range. That one goes over the bar as well. Possibly an even wilder attempt. Good work by Güler down the right to set it up.

14 min: Aktürkoğlu blazes a shot over the bar from distance. Turkey are beginning to find their rhythm now; they just need to locate their range.

13 min: That wasn’t a million miles away from the challenge Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer got away with on Mikel Merino in the Champions League the other week. Just as well Mikel Arteta doesn’t manage Turkey in his spare time.

11 min: Yılmaz is down again, flattened by Darlow who was busy punching clear a ball bouncing on the edge of his six-yard box. Turkey want a penalty but the referee shows no interest whatsoever. “Can’t help thinking Bellamy has missed a trick by playing Harry Wilson from the start,” opines Richard Hirst. “As any fule kno, even us Fulham supporters, he’s best left till the end.”

9 min: Johnson goes into the book for a fairly brazen kick at Yılmaz. No real need for that, and now he’s on the disciplinary tightrope for the next hour and 20 minutes.

7 min: Akgün twists the blood of Williams as he advances down the right. He nearly bursts clear into the Wales box but Davies comes over to get in the way and usher the ball out of play for a goal kick. This game is rattling along nicely.

6 min: Wales are definitely up for this. It’s all a bit frantic. Wilson dribbles down the middle and draws a foul from Müldür. Johnson and Roberts combine down the right in the hope of earning a corner. Not quite, but full marks for full-throttle ambition. Turkey counter through the prodigy Güler, who glides in from the right and takes the evening’s first shot in anger. Darlow behind it all the way. The crowd are whistling quite a lot.

4 min: Wales, every atom their manager’s creation, continue to pile forward with determination. It nearly costs them, though, as Akgün breaks clear down the right on the counter. The visitors are fortunate his attempt to find Yılmaz in the centre with a low cross is no good.

2 min: … but then Thomas comes again down the left and goes over having brushed Yılmaz. There doesn’t look to be a great deal in it, and Yılmaz is livid, so it’s probably for the best that nothing comes of the resulting free kick.

1 min: … but nothing comes of it …

33 secs: A fast start by Wales, with Thomas barrelling down the left wing at speed to win the first corner of the match …

Wales get the ball rolling. “Wales will be lucky to escape without a roasting this afternoon,” predicts Jeremy Boyce. “The crowd and atmosphere will be cranked up to ten, it will be hot despite the fact that it’s nearly winter. I used to play a bit on Hackney Marshes, back in the day before they demolished the tower blocks, and if you were up against a Türkiye Spor Kulübü team, there were plenty in northeast London, you knew you were in for a tough match and should have maybe said no to the last pint the night before. I’m sure nothing has changed.”

The teams are out! Turkey in red, Wales in second-choice [squints, adjusts pince-nez, holds press release at different angle to catch light] pearl citrine. A fine atmosphere in Kayseri, the city hosting the national team for the first time since 2013. Turkey beat Andorra 5-0 that day, it’s probably worth pointing that out. Anyway, we’ll be off in a minute!

Craig Bellamy talks to S4C with the atmosphere in the Kadir Has Stadium in Kayseri already bubbling up nicely. “Mark Harris is a dangerous profile … speed, looking to stretch the game … definitely a player for this type of game … the first 15-20 minutes will be massive but it will settle down … there’s a lot of scenarios that could arise … you have to embrace it … we’ve done enough meetings … hopefully we’ll be able to find solutions when they occur … adapt to situations … that’s really the test for tonight … this is football, it’s why it’s the greatest game in the world … I have full trust in the players, I believe they’re a lot better than I was … these moments … you have to take a step back .. this is why, to come here in an atmosphere like this … it’s going to be a test of course … but life’s about that, surely … whatever the outcome, I’m looking forward to what happens!”

Turkey – or Türkiye, to give them their Fifa-recognised name; the FAW haven’t pushed the button on Cymru yet – are much changed from the team sent out for the 0-0 draw in Cardiff back in early September. Merih Demiral, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Eren Elmalı, Yunus Akgün and captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu all start, replacing that day’s selection of Zeki Çelik, İsmail Yüksek and Kaan Ayhan, who are on the bench, and Çağlar Söyüncü and Kenan Yıldız, who are not in the squad.

Craig Bellamy makes four changes to the team that started the 1-0 win over Montenegro last month. Connor Roberts, Sorba Thomas, Jordan James and Brennan Johnson are in, taking the places of Ben Cabango, Liam Cullen and David Brooks, who are on the bench, and the absent Wes Burns.

The teams

Preamble