This year, the UEFA Nations League is going on with exciting games as in every season. It has now completed its third round, successfully continuing to fulfill its mission of giving nations competitive encounters with closely ranked teams.
In the first round, the tournament was divided into 4 leagues, with League A and B having 12, League C having 14 and League D having 16 teams. Each league contains four groups with either three or four nations in each, with matches being played both home and away.
Türkiye is a prominent nation involved in this league, being in League B, Group B4 along with Iceland, Montenegro and Wales. To this day, Türkiye has played 4 matches, 2 home and 2 away, and has won 3 of them, drawing in only one of the games.
The draw was in the game against Wales, at Cardiff City Stadium on September 6, and neither team was able to score a goal. In the match, one of the most prominent forward players for Türkiye, Barış Alper Yılmaz, received a second yellow card, resulting in a red card. Some fans suggested that a significant defensive player on the team, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, was experiencing some health issues prior to the match and was unable to play, which impacted the result of the match.
The wins of Türkiye were against Iceland and Montenegro. The first win came from the match against Iceland in Izmir and as the date of the match, September 9, coincided with the anniversary of the salvation of Izmir, the fans had great energy. In the match, Türkiye was able to score 3 goals, all coming from the same player, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, who recently transferred to Benfica. Iceland also scored a goal with Palsson. The Turkish team was able to beat Montenegro on October 11, in the game played at Samsun with a goal scored by İrfan Can Kahveci, a Fenerbahçe player.
The last match Türkiye played was against Iceland. As the match was held in Iceland, the players had to play in the freezing weather, which is not something Turkish players are used to. The match was even discussed to be postponed due to the frozen stadium floor, but it was played on October 14, as scheduled. Even with the slippery field, Türkiye fought for victory with determination. The first goal of the match came from Iceland in minute 3, and until the 54th minute, the status was the same. In the 54th minute, Türkiye was awarded a penalty but due to a mistake by Hakan Çalhanoğlu, the captain, the penalty was missed. However, the Turkish team started to play the match with even more aggression after the failed penalty and İrfan Can Kahveci was able to score a goal in minute 62. Another goal came from Hakan Çalhanoğlu from a penalty, in minute 67. With one more goal from Iceland and two more goals from Türkiye, from Arda Güler and Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Türkiye ended the match with a score of 4-2, despite starting from behind.
All in all, Türkiye has been performing pretty well in the Nations League. We wish the team good luck in the following matches.
Edited by: Ömer Gökce, Oya Yamaç