Türkiye to face Wales in UEFA Nations League

Türkiye’s national football team will face Wales for the 10th time Friday at 9:45 p.m. in Cardiff. The match will be held at Cardiff City Stadium and officiated by Rohit Saggi from the Norwegian Football Federation, with Morten Jensen and Anders Olav Dale as assistants and Sigurd Kringstad as the fourth official.

In their previous nine official encounters, Türkiye has secured three wins, four losses and two draws against Wales. The Turkish team has scored 10 goals while conceding 13 in these matches. The first encounter took place in 1978, with Wales winning 1-0 in Wrexham. The most recent clash ended in a 1-1 draw in Cardiff on Nov. 21, 2023.

The highest-scoring match between the two teams occurred on Aug. 20, 1997, when Türkiye won 6-4 after a 3-3 first half at Ali Sami Yen Stadium under the management of Mustafa Denizli.

Türkiye has not lost to Wales in their last two encounters, with a win and a draw in the Euro 2028 qualifiers.

For tonight’s match, Türkiye is expected to start with Mert Gunok in goal, Merih Demiral and Caglar Soyuncu in defense, Mert Muldur and Kaan Ayhan as full-backs, and Ismail Yuksek, Hakan Calhanoglu, and Orkun Kokcu in midfield. Up front, Arda Guler, Kenan Yildiz, and Baris Alper Yilmaz are anticipated to play.