Euro 2016 – Group D Match Preview – Spain vs Turkey

Euro 2016 – Group D Match Preview – Spain vs Turkey

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Contrasting fortunes surrounded match day one for Spain and Turkey, but both sides head into their second group game with a victory in their minds.

The Spanish outclassed the Czech Republic in their first match, but had to wait until the 87th minute to break the deadlock through Gerard Pique. The Czechs’, ably led at the back by goalkeeper Petr Cech, frustrated Vincente Del Bosque’ men for the majority of the match, but could not stop the inevitable as Pique leaped highest to burst the net.

In much the same vein the Turkish were beaten by a classier outfit in the form of Croatia by a solitary goal and will need to improve their defensive display to ‘higher than Czech’ levels if they are to defeat La Furia Roja.

For Spain, a win will take them into the round of 16, and a defeat for Turkey may bring them to the brink of exiting the competition.

READ MORE: Euro 2016 – Three Key Talking Points – Spain vs Turkey

Key Battle – Alvaro Morata vs Volkan Babacan

Alvaro Morata showed signs of being the top class forward Spain have been searching for since the heydays of Fernando Torres and David Villa against the Czech Republic, but came away with nothing to show for it.

Much of that came down to the superb work of Cech, but for Spain to pose a real threat to this competition they need a striker to fire and it needs to begin against the Turkish.

Standing in Morata’s way will be Volkan Babacan, who had an equally impressing game as the Czech custodian against the Croatians and will need to do it all again to carry his side to victory.

Team News

Do not expect Spain coach Del Bosque to experiment too much with a winning side after the team’s performance in the first match.

A possible change could be Koke in for Cesc Fabregas, who failed to sparkle against the Czech’s.

Despite not taking anything from their match against Croatia, the Turkish can hold their heads high, and in the same vein coach Faith Terim will not mix too much with his side.

Volkan Sen replaced Oguzhan Ozyakup at half time in the first match and may make his second appearance from the beginning against the Spaniards.

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Head-to-head

Spain and Turkey have faced each other seven times, with La Furia Roja holding the advantage with four wins. The Turkish have only beaten Spain on one occasion way back in 1954, where they took the victory with a 1-0 victory.

Previous Meeting

These teams last faced each other in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

Drawn together in group five Spain defeated Turkey both home and away with the more recent result being a 2-1 victory in Istanbul. Goals from Xabi Alonso and Albert Riera cancelled out the opener by Semih Senturk.

Prediction

Both sides will be fighting tooth and nail for the victory, but this match may very well end up like both ofe their first fixtures, with both sides on the same side of history.

Much like the Czech Republic, Turkey will likely sit back, try and absorb pressure and hit on the counter. They do have a more potent strike force than the Czechs and will cause Spain more troubles than they had on matchday one.

Despite this, La Furia Roja will have far too much of the ball and will wear the Turkish down just as they did the Czech Republic.

Spain 1 Turkey 0

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