It might be classed as a friendly, but this encounter between England and Turkey at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium on May 22 is likely to be anything but. With less than a month until Euro ’16 kicks off, both teams will want to take some confidence forward with them to France.
This is the first in a triple-header of friendlies for England, with Australia and Portugal to follow shortly after, and while that gives Roy Hodgson plenty of time to settle upon his preferred starting eleven, he will want to get his personnel in place as early as possible. So, expect a strong Three Lions side to take to the field on the Sunday….and thus expect them to win.
Turkey Time
Can we discount Turkey completely? Well, it has to be said that they came through the tough Group A in European Championship qualifying. Okay, so they finished behind the Czech Republic and surprise package Iceland in that bracket, but they did see off the hopes of the Netherlands, and – despite what you might read – the Oranjes are still a side blessed with plenty of quality.
What is most impressive about Turkey is their record in major competition. They have qualified for four big tournaments in their entire history….and reached the semi-finals in two of those and the quarters in another. They are the epitome of big game players.
They come to England in great form too, having to win their last three matches in qualifying to even book their spot in France as one of the ‘best losers’. Victories over Holland, Iceland and the Czechs got them on the plane, an subsequent wins over Sweden and Austria in friendlies confirmed that Fatih Terim’s side are very much dark horses for the summer tournament.
If we look back through time Turkey have never been a side blessed with huge talent, Hakan Suker and Recber Rustu aside, and this 2016 vintage is no different. Okay, so Arda Turan takes his place in one of the best club sides on the planet (Barcelona), while Hakan Calhanoglu is widely regarded as one of the finest prospects on the continent. Add in the goals of Buruk Yilmaz and the defensive solidarity associated with a Terim side and you have quite a proposition on your hands. England must not take them lightly.
Predictions
All of that being said, here’s a startling statistic: in the eight games that they have played against each other, Turkey are yet to beat England.
That’s right, the Three Lions have come out on top in six encounters with two stalemates, and set faces to stunned when you read this: Turkey have never scored a goal against England! The aggregate score reads 31-0 in favour of the English, and while that has been skewed by a couple of 8-0 margins from the 1980s, it is clear who traditionally dominates this fixture.
We expect Hodgson to deploy a strong starting eleven for this game, with Wayne Rooney likely to be given a chance to prove his fitness along with Jack Wilshere. No quarter will be asked and none taken by the Turks, but you would expect the extra quality of England – on home soil to boot – to be definitive.
Given their history, it is likely that England will win (1/2 with William Hill), and given that Turkey have never scored against the English – and this fixture, while being a friendly, still has some significance – we wouldn’t expect them to get off the mark here as England will not take this one lightly. So backing England to Win & Both Teams to Score (No) at 5/4 with SkyBet looks the smart investment.
