Turkey continues to lead the dance in Group G of the qualifying cycle for the World Cup in Qatar. Three days after the misstep against Montenegro (2-2), the team of national coach Senol Günes, who did not opt for his strongest line-up, was too strong for Gibraltar. The meeting at the Victoria Stadium ended in 0-3. That means that Turkey comes in eleven points, one more than the Netherlands and Norway. The Netherlands and Turkey will face each other on Tuesday in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, while Norway will face Gibraltar in the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo.
After just a few minutes of play, Turkey, with Orkun Kökçü in the base, failed to take the lead. Referee Kristo Tohver from Estonia pointed to the dot after a foul on Efecan Karaca. Enes Unal shot the ball well and low into the left corner, but goalkeeper Dayle Coleing opted for the same angle and processed the leather into a corner. A hard blow for Turkey, which failed to get through Gibraltar’s defense in the remainder of the first half.
Günes took no risks and opted for the entrance of Kenan Karaman, Hakan Çalhanoglu and Halil Dervisoglu after the break. The latter broke open the scoring after 54 minutes when he received a pass from Çalhanoglu and shot the leather from the left side of the box brilliantly into the left corner behind the stunned Coleing. Eleven minutes later, the goalkeeper also had no answer to a hard shot from Çalhanoglu into the left corner: 0-2.
Another substitute, Karaman, made the 0-3 eight minutes before the end. After a pass from Mert Müldür from the right, he worked the ball high behind Coleing at the penalty spot. Cengiz Ünder, Altay Bayindir and Okay Yokuslu were in the starting line-up on Wednesday, but were now denied playing time.
Only the number one in the group qualifies directly for the World Cup in Qatar. The numbers two from the ten different groups and the two best group winners from the 2020/21 Nations League who fall outside the top two of their World Cup qualifying group will participate in the play-offs. The total of twelve countries will be divided into three play-off paths, each containing two semi-finals over one match and one final. The home teams in the play-offs are determined by drawing lots, with the six best numbers two placed and therefore unable to meet. The winner of each path qualifies for the World Cup.