SWITZERLAND are taking on Turkey in a crucial final Euro 2020 group game TONIGHT.
The Swiss must hope Wales do not beat Italy in Rome to have any hope of finishing second in the group.
- Kick-off: 5pm BST
- Italy vs Wales LIVE now in Group A
- TV/live stream: ITV 4/ ITV Hub
- Switzerland XI: Sommer; Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka, Zuber; Shaqiri; Seferovic, Embolo
- Turkey XI: Cakir, Celik, Demiral, Soyuncu, Muldur, Ayhan, Under, Tufan, Kahveci, Calhanoglu, Yilmaz
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GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!
TOTALLY AGAINST THE RUN OF PLAY!
BUT WHAT A FINISH BY HARIS SEFEROVIC!
SWITZERLAND 0-0 TURKEY
3. BIG SAVE BY SOMMER!
Kaan Ayhan who is playing in the middle of the park this evening fired an absolute stinger towards the Switzerland goal.
But Yann Sommer managed to somehow parry it away.
SWITZERLAND 0-0 TURKEY
2. Corner amounts to nothing but the Turkish players are not giving the Swiss a moment to breathe.
It’s only two minutes in but Turkey are really showing signs of hunger.
SWITZERLAND 0-0 TURKEY
2. Burak Yilmaz sets the tone for the game with an early long range effort which gets deflected out for a corner.
The Turkish crowd are going crazy, you can see what this game means to them.
SWITZERLAND 0-0 TURKEY
1. I can’t believe we are at match-day three already.
Where has time gone?!
Anyways, we have the most exciting part of the tournament still to come and so much yet to decide starting with who will progress from Group A this evening.
PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
SLAVKO VINCIC GET’S THE PARTY STARTED!
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NATIONAL ANTHEMS
The players are out and they are singing loud and proud.
But could it be the last time that both teams sing their national anthem in this competition?
EURO FACTS
If the Swiss are to progress to the round of 16, they will need to find the form they had in the qualifying rounds.
Switzerland finished top of their group accumulating 17 points from their eight games, winning four out of their finals five matches.
Turkey also excelled above expectations in the qualifying stages considering they were drawn in the same group as France
The Crescent Stars finished in second with a tally of 23 points from their 10 games, but their biggest accomplishment was taking four of those points off the 2018 World Cup Winners, France.
SINCERE SENOL
Life is about giving credit where credit is due and similar to the Swiss boss, Vladimir Petkovic, I believe that Senol Gunes should be praised for how he approached his press conference.
The Turkish head coach was able to admit that his players are at fault for their poor performances so far at the Euros but without completely slandering them and Gunes even went on to mention how despite everything, he is still proud of the boys.
Sometimes small details determine results. My players will learn from their mistakes, I am proud of my players. They will bring many good things to Turkish football, I told them that too. Sometimes you need to fail in order to win, our players will learn that.
Senol Gunes
PEN PAL PETKOVIC
Highest of respects go to Vladimir Petkovic for drafting a penned letter where he urged the nation to get behind the team for their final fixture of the group stages.
The Swiss head coach recognised that his side has been below par and understands that tactically, he didn’t get the set-up right against Wales or Italy.
In addition to the right tactical approach, we must once again bring all our values and virtues onto the pitch in our last game – solidarity, identification, joy and respect. That’s why we need all your support before this decisive game. We’re sorry from the bottom of our hearts.
Vladimir Petkovic
TURKEY CURRENT FORM
Senol Gunes’ men would have been oozing with confidence leading up to the Euros but it has turned out to be disastrous.
The Crescent-Stars had only one defeat in their last 13 games and I am aware that seven of them were draws but they had a notable 4-2 victory in that run over The Netherlands.
However Turkey haven’t managed to make it count where it matters because they have suffered back-to-back losses in their first two group games without recording a single goal so far.
With the Turkish outfit chance to progress to the knock-out rounds looking increasingly slim, they’ll need to put an end to this awful run to stand any chance of progressing.
SWITZERLAND RECENT RESULTS
The Swiss have had a rollercoaster of results recently.
Prior to the 3-0 defeat in Rome against Italy last Wednesday, Rossocrociati had gone seven games un-beaten which includes a 7-0 thrashing over Liechtenstein.
But before that run, Switzerland had also failed to win in seven matches.
Unfortunately for Vladimir Petkovic’s side, the old form is beginning to creep in because they haven’t managed to record a single victory in two games and that has to change this evening if they want to be in the last 16 of the Euros.
GUESS WHO?
Real Turkey fans will know who this is.
I will give you a clue, scroll up.
HAVE YOUR SAY
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SUPER CAL-AFRAGILISTIC
Whilst Granit Xhaka is edging closer to the Arsenal exit door based on reports, the Gunners have been eyeing a replacement and Hakan Calhanoglu is of the many names which have popped up this summer.
Albeit they play a slightly different role, Arteta reportedly wants to bolster his midfield regardless and if the rumours are true, Calhanoglu wouldn’t be a bad purchase.
The AC Milan attacker played a huge part in his side finishing in a Champions League position for the first time since the 2012/13 campaign and he is a key starter for his country too.
Turkey’s talisman only managed four goals for the Milan giants last season but he would have hit double figures in assists had it not been for poor finishing in certain games.
Since his first appearance on the international stage back in 2013, Calhanoglu has won 57 caps scoring 13 goals in that time which is a decent goals per game ratio for a player who operates behind the front line.
Unfortunately, Turkey’s number 10 hasn’t quite got going this tournament, and it has contributed to their failure in automatically progressing to the last 16 but a big performance this evening could help his country sneak into the last 16 through the 3rd place route so all is not completely lost.
But until then, check out Hakan Calhanoglu’s numbers from the 2020/21 season and you may spot why a numerous of clubs are keeping close tabs on him.
GRANIT THE GREAT
Granit Xhaka is a man who divides opinion when he is earning his money at club level with Arsenal, but for Switzerland it’s a different story because he is very much a key fixture in the squad.
Since making his senior appearance on the international stage in 2011, Xhaka has figured 96 times for the Swiss national team and his leadership skills has even led him to becoming captain of the side.
Despite filling in for Kieran Tierney as a makeshift left-back for the latter periods of the season, Xhaka’s main role is to operate in the engine room for Arsenal.
However, the Swiss captain may no longer be playing his football in North London after the summer transfer window comes to a close because strong reports have highlighted that Xhaka has agreed personal terms to join long-time admirer, Jose Mourinho at Roma.
I find it so ironic that he might be moving to an Italian outfit because Switzerland drew Italy in their group for the Euros which didn’t turn out to be the best thing for obvious reasons.
The Gunners had a poor season to say the least.
They finished 8th for a second consecutive time under Mikel Arteta and will not be featuring in any European competition next campaign for the first time in over 25 years.
But Xhaka is one of the very few players in the squad who can hold his head up high. He was a consistent good performer and it showed how influential he was to them team when the 28-year-old played the whole 90 minutes, 14 times in a row.
Take a look at how he Switzerland’s captain fantastic did for his club in the previous campaign.
TURKEY TAKING TRIPS
The Turkish national side are in town and they’re here for one thing and one thing only.
Qualification.
TURKEY BENCH
1 Gunok (GK) 12 Bayindir (GK) 5 Yokuslu, 8 Tokoz, 9 Karaman, 11 Yazici, 14 Antalyali, 15 Kabak, 16 Unal, 18 Ridvan Yilmaz, 15 Kokcu, 26 Dervisoglu
TURKEY XI
Senol Gunes has decided not grant captain Burak Yilmaz with a strike partner but as expected, the Turkish head coach has made alter the squad a little.
A couple of those changes are Mert Muldur and Irfan Kahveci stepping in.
Whereas Umut Meras and Okay Yokuslu have been dropped which he is probably not Ok with.
(4-1-4-1) 23 Cakir; 2 Zeki Celik, 3 Demiral, 4 Soyuncu, 25 Muldur; 22 Ayhan; 7 Cengiz Under, 6 Tufan, 21 Kahveci, 10 Calhanoglu; 17 Yilmaz
LOCKER ROOM
An exclusive snapshot of what the Swiss changing room looks like with a breakdown of everything accessible to the players.
I wonder what music they play to get them in the mood for a game.
SWITZERLAND BENCH
12 Mvogo (GK) 21 Kobel (GK) 2 Mbabu, 6 Zakaria, 11 Vargas, 15 Sow, 16 Fassnacht, 17 Benito, 18 Mehmedi, 19 Gavranovic, 22 Schar, 25 Comert
SWITZERLAND XI
Vladimir Petkovic has opted to make a couple of changes from the side who fell victim to an on-form Italian side last time out but as guessed, not too many.
What is surprising is that they both come in the wing-back positions. Silvan Widmer comes in.
And Steven Zuber steps in for Kevin Mbabu who will presumably be hogging the touch line and getting some chalk on his boots out wide.
(3-4-1-2) 1 Sommer; 4 Elvedi, 5 Akanji, 13 Rodriguez; 3 Widmer, 8 Freuler, 10 Xhaka, 14 Zuber; 23 Shaqiri; 9 Seferovic, 7 Embolo
THE TEAM SHEETS ARE IN!
HAVE YOUR SAY
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk