Euro 2020 Preview: Turkey

After a promising qualifying campaign, Senol Gunes looks to have nurtured a second ‘golden-era’ in Turkey, after guiding the Crescent Stars to their best ever major tournament finish in the 2002 World Cup, in which they finished third.

After a 15 year stint away from international management, in which Gunes took charge of Trabzonspor, FC Seoul, Bursaspor and Besiktas, the now 69 year old was reinstated in 2019, replacing Mircea Lucescu.

Since then Turkey have improved immensely, tightening up a typically leaky defence, mainly thanks to the presence of Caglar Soyuncu, whilst remaining exciting and unpredictable in attack. They go into the finals as genuine dark horses with the bookies pricing them at 50/1 to win Euro 2020.

In part 11 of our Euro 2020 preview series, we’ll take a deeper look into Turkey’s form going into the finals, as well as their likely formation and playing style. Finally, we’ll highlight a couple of key players before pulling the usual key odds.

Form Guide

Euro 2020 qualifying: WDDWWWLWWW

It would be fair to say that Turkey had an outstanding qualifying campaign, finishing second behind France — who they took four points from , including a 2–0 win in Turkey— with seven wins, two draws and one defeat (2–1 to Iceland). And whilst only managing a fairly average 18 goals in their 10 games, they somehow conceded just three times, making their defence the joint best in the entire qualification process, equal with Belgium.

Turkey’s relegation from Group B3 in the Nations League harboured minor doubts, however they were emphatically relinquished after two dominant displays against their two main World Cup qualifying rivals, the Netherlands and Norway, winning 4–2 and 3–0 respectively.

A second rate team drew with Guinea in Turkey’s first warm-up friendly, before a stronger side dispatched Moldova 2–0.

Formation & Playing Style

Throughout Gunes’ second spell in charge he has tinkered with Turkey’s formation quite regularly, switching between different iterations of 4–2–3–1 / 4–3–3 being deployed at various stages. On paper, Turkey’s strongest lineup works best in a 4–2–3–1.

 

Leicester’s Caglar Soyuncu is the key to Turkey’s defensive unit and a shoe-in to start. He will be partnered with either the added solidity of Merih Demiral modern skillset of Ozan Kabak — opponent dependant. Zeki Celik won Ligue 1 with Lille and can play either full-back role, whilst the other side is up for grabs.

A double-pivot of Okay Yokuslu and Ozan Tufan should provide a perfect blend of stability and progressive quality in midfield, freeing up the attacking unit to focus on, well, attacking.

The build up of the defensive unit liberates Turkey’s main playmaker and outstanding talent, Hakan Calhanoglu, in the number 10 role. The AC Milan midfielder will prove Turkey’s main source of creativity, and will be flanked with pace, dynamism and dribbling ability — in this example, Cengiz Under and Kenan Karaman.

Upfront, the evergreen Burak Yilmaz — also of Lille; one of three Turkish players to play for the French champions — will act as the focal point. His resurgence in France has been nothing short of miraculous and he will go into the finals on the back of one of his finest seasons at club level.

In terms of playing style, Turkey like to draw teams out from any defensive shape — wether that be in possession by playing out from the back and tempting the press, or out of possession by sitting deep and packing their half — before utilising their pace and skill in attack to counter. In what is a tactically diverse side, Turkey may also opt to press aggressively against the lesser sides, winning the ball high up and exploiting imbalances in the opposition defence.

Key Players

Caglar Soyuncu: In a new-look Turkey defence, Leicester City’s Caglar Soyuncu typifies what it is to be a modern centre-back, and has been pivotal in his country’s rise in recent years. Powerful and athletic, yet calm, composed, almost silky, the 25 year old is entering the peak years of his career and improving with every minute.

At Leicester he has stepped in seamlessly to fill what was thought to be an impossible role, replacing Harry Maguire. But after three seasons at the Kingpower Stadium, following his move from SC Freiburg, the consensus amongst Foxes fans is that their defensive unit has improved since Soyuncu’s arrival, for which he has been the main component.

He is now widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, and after winning the FA cup in the season just gone, he will be on the hunt to add more silverware.

Burak Yilmaz: After an 18 year career in which Burak Yilmaz left Turkey only for a brief spell in China with Beijing Guoan, and switched between seven different sides in the Turkish Super Lig, the news of his transfer to French Ligue 1 side Lille in August 2020 seemed odd, to say the least.

Since then, the now 35 year old has made 28 appearances for Lille, scoring 16 goals, notching up five assists and leading his side to a dramatic Ligue 1 title — scoring the penalty that ended up winning it against Angers on the final day.

With 67 caps and 29 goals for Turkey since 2006, Yilmaz is a veteran forward. He shows no signs of slowing down however, and has bagged five times in his 4 appearances for the Crescent Stars since the turn of the year, inclusive of a devastating hat-trick against the Netherlands.

With the pace of the likes of Under, Karaman and Enes Unal either side of him and the creativity of Calhanoglu just behind, Yilmaz will be licking his lips at the prospect of leaving an indelible mark on what will likely be his final major tournament.

Key Odds

As we have already mentioned, Turkey are certified dark horses this summer, with the bookies putting them at 50/1 to win Euro 2020. They are 20/1 to top their best ever major tournament finish by reaching the final, and joint second with Switzerland to win their group at 9/2.

Burak Yilmaz is the clear favourite in Turkish colours to win the Golden Boot at 40/1. No one else is close, with Hakan Calhanoglu the next on the list at 125/1.

Turkey are a massive 7/1 to win their opener — the opener — against Italy in Rome.