Turkey will meet neighboring Armenia again in a heated Europe 2024 qualifier on Friday night. Turkey, known as the "Stars of the Crescent", beat Armenia 2-1 in their first round meeting in March, but the winner of Group D is still undecided.
In their last meeting, Turkey managed to snatch victory from Armenia thanks to goals from Orkun Koku and Korem Akturkoglu after Ozan Kabak's 10th-minute equalizer. Stefan Koncz's side lost 2-0 in their second qualifier, but they regained control of Group D by beating Latvia and Wales in quick succession during the last international break.
They narrowly won 3-2 against Latvia thanks to Irfan Kahveci's goal in the final stages of the game, in the 95th minute. They then went on to win 2-0 against Wales, having 77% of the ball and taking 14 shots on goal, with young talent Arda Guler coming on as a substitute to score the decisive goal.
As a result, the Stars of the Crescent are now at the top of Group D, three points clear of second-placed Armenia, and have won three of their four qualifying matches. Throughout the tournament, Turkey has lost only two of its last 12 matches, while winning nine, so Koncz's team is highly confident that it will be able to win again against Armenia.
However, it is worth noting that Armenia have played one game less than Turkey, which means that this Friday's match has extra motivation for the visitors to win, as if Oleksandr Pitrakov's men can win in Eskişehir, then they will be tied with Turkey on points.
Despite opening the tournament with a loss to Turkey, Armenia stormed back with a three-game unbeaten streak, including a 2-2 friendly draw against Cyprus and two crucial victories in Group D. The Armenian team is now on a three-game unbeaten streak, including a 2-2 friendly draw against Cyprus.
In Cardiff, Armenia beat Wales 4-2, with Lukas Zelayane and Grant Leon Lanos scoring two goals each. In their previous match, Armenia had 67% of the ball and kicked 21 shots on goal, while Latvia did not have a single shot on target. Pitrakov's players didn't score until the 91st minute for a 2-1 victory with a goal by Tigran Barsekhyan.
Despite going through a nine-game winless streak between June 2022 and March 2023 (with two draws and seven defeats in that time), Armenia are now confident of extending their winning streak to three games.
All in all, we expect Turkey to win this Friday's match, although the Armenian team may also put some pressure on the Stars of the Crescent.
