Beating Kazakhstan 3-0 last Friday put Turkey on top of Group A ahead of Germany who narrowly edged 1-0 past Belgium. Under new coach, Guus Hiddink, the Turkish are expected to pass the Euro 2012 qualifying phase with fewer troubles than euphoria.
Things seem to get on well… at least, for the moment. On Tuesday, Turkey will welcome Belgium at home and Coach Guus Hiddink stated ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifying match:
“We took a good step by beating Kazakhstan. Maybe, they aren’t playing the best football in the world. Still, they are a side that can surprise you, unless you concentrate well.
“The game against Belgium will be harder than that one [against Kazakhstan]. That’s because they [Belgium] have a new squad that contains young and promising players.”
Turkey will surely have to face a resilient and determined Belgium team. Having lost to Germany with the narrowest of margins, Belgium are keen to bounce back and get their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign on track as Vincent Kompany declared in a post match interview last Friday:
“The match against Germany could have gone either way. We had chances, they had chances. So, I think it’s a shame that this happened. We lost as a team today. Now we have to win as a team too.
“I think [the game against Germany] prepared us well. Now, we have to send out a strong signal by winning in Turkey to claim all three points.”
History reveals that Turkey have never beaten Belgium at home. There are four draws between the two sides and Belgium have defeated Turkey as much as three times in nine meetings. On Tuesday, Turkey and Belgium will clash for the first time in a European Championship qualifier.
