Reigning world champions France face a tough test in their Euro 2020 Qualifying campaign as they face Group H rivals Turkey at Konya Buyuksehir Belediye Stadium in Konya on Saturday evening. The two sides have last met in a friendly match back in 2009 and France won it 1-0, six years after their meeting in the FIFA Confederations Cup, which France also won 3-2. There have been just five meetings between these two nations in their footballing history, and all of them were won by the French.
Turkey had a great start to their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, they followed up the 2-0 victory in Albania in the inaugural match with a comfortable 4-0 home victory over Moldova. After that they recorded another couple of wins, they defeated both Greece and Uzbekistan in friendly matches. That string of victories was more than needed for Turkey after having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and also after having finished last in their UEFA Nations League group. This match could be a special occasion for midfielder Emre, he would earn his 100th cap for Turkey if head coach Senol Gunes will decide to send him in.
France also had a 100 percent start to their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, they kicked things off with a 4-1 victory in Moldova and then they got a 4-0 triumph over Iceland on French soil. Those results restored confidence in the French team after their failed campaign in the UEFA Nations League, where they finished second behind the Netherlands in their group. However, France have lost just one of their last 20 matches in all competitions. The visitors will be without Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante, who has withdrawn from the squad due to an injury.
Probable line-ups:
Turkey: Gunok - Celik, Demiral, Ayhan, Kaldirim - Under, Tekdemir, Yokusu, Calhanoglu - Tosun, Yilmaz
France: Lloris - Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Digne - Pogba, NDombele - Mbappe, Griezmann, Matuidi - Giroud
My prediction:
It's always tough to play against Turkey in front of their home fans, but France have great experience of playing under pressure and I think they are capable of winning this match 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Turkey win - 6.70
Draw - 4.15
France win - 1.55
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