Turkey 0-2 Croatia: Croatia ended the international match period with a victory over Turkey. The number three of the last World Cup in Qatar was so excited for the Nations League match against the Dutch national team that will be played in De Kuip in June.
Croatia does refuel confidence against Turkey for a clash with the Netherlands
Croatia were unable to win on Saturday at the start of the European Championship qualifying series. Wales equalized through Nathan Broadhead in extra time. In and against Turkey, the Croats left the field with a much better feeling. The formation of national coach Zlatko Dalic was effective in Bursa.
After twenty minutes, the visitors struck for the first time. Turkey did not intervene when the Croats passed the ball around in the box. Mario Pasalic lost to Mateo Kovacic, who did not hesitate and shot the ball hard into the right corner.
Orkun Kökçü and Ferdi Kadioglu were left behind. They were in the starting line-up for Turkey and saw Croatia take a 0-2 lead just before the end of the first half. Goalkeeper Mert Günok had only half an answer to Pasalic’s shot, after which it was Kovacic again who scored.
Turkey did not come really close to the tying goal after the break. Croatia failed to make it 0-3 through Pasalic and Andrej Kramaric, but did add three points in Group D of the qualifying series. Croatia will face the Netherlands in the semi-finals of the Nations League on June 14.
Georgia 1-1 Norway
Georgia and Norway drew in a European Championship qualifier on Tuesday evening. The Norwegians took the lead in the first half through Alexander Sørloth, after the break Georges Mikautadze balanced the score.
Georgia and Norway make little progress with a draw
The game started in the seaside resort of Batumi, with Norway’s Feyenoord player Marcus Pedersen and ex-Feyeno player Fredrik Aursnes, but not super striker Erling Haaland. His replacement Sørloth quickly asserted himself, on a pass from Aursnes he shot a flawless ball into the corner from twenty meters. The former FC Groningen player scored for the sixteenth time in the national team, which is once more than his father Gøran.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then interfered with the course of events, but his nice attempt sailed slightly over the Norwegian goal. It was the signal for a strong second half from the home team led by Willy Sagnol, who scored after an hour through Mikautadze. Norway did not feature much in the second half, but still had the greatest chance of winning. Martin Ødegaard accidentally got an almost unmissable opportunity to score, but the Arsenal star player chased the ball over.
In this group, in which on paper it is mainly about who comes second behind Spain, Scotland may well be the winner with this draw. Steve Clarke’s team will play against Spain on Tuesday evening at a packed Hampden Park. Scotland won its opening game against Cyprus (3-0), the Spaniards set the same numbers against Norway, which has therefore started badly.
