Wales vs Turkey

Wales’ 2023/24 UEFA Nations League campaign gets underway at the Cardiff City Stadium against familiar rivals Turkey.

Back-to-back scoring blanks in low-profile friendlies against Gibraltar and Slovakia during the summer (D1, L1) proved the end of the road for underachieving manager Rob Page, who failed to steer Wales to Euro 2024. Page’s successor, Craig Bellamy, delves into the realm of senior management for the first time to take charge of the national team he represented 78 times during his playing career. Bellamy’s first assignment is to end Wales’ underwhelming six-game winless streak in the Nations League (D1, L5) before he embarks on the more challenging task of taking the Dragons to a major international tournament. It’s been over a year since Wales last suffered a home defeat in regulation time (W3, D3), increasing the likelihood of them building on their respectable League B record (W7, D1, L2).

As for Turkey, they pulled off a stunning Euro 2024 campaign, reaching the quarter-finals at the grandest continental stage for the first time since 2008, only to throw away a halftime lead in a 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands. The Turks held Wales winless in both their Euro 2024 qualifiers last year (W1, D1) and will be out to beat them on this turf for the first time in their history. Vincenzo Montella’s side earned promotion from League C in the previous Nations League edition despite slumping to a gut-wrenching 2-1 away loss to the Faroe Islands. While they’ll be keen to avoid the same fate in Cardiff, it’s worth noting that the Crescent Stars haven’t won any of their last five matches on foreign soil (D2, L3).