Sam Vreeswijk14 Oct 2024, 23:04
Last updated: Oct 14, 2024, 11:06 PM
Turkey recorded a 2-4 victory over Iceland in the final phase on Monday evening, in a match in which plenty happened. The victory keeps the Turks at the top of their Nations League group, while Iceland remains in third place with four points.
The Turks, with Dutch-born Ferdi Kadioglu and Orkun Kökçü in the starting line-up, got off to a dramatic start. Within three minutes it was 1-0 to Iceland, when the lightning-fast Orri Óskarsson was sent deep on the counter and hit hard.
The real spectacle only followed in the second act. First, Turkey received a penalty after a handball by Sverrir Ingason. Hakan Çalhanoglu took advantage of the opportunity, but the goal was disallowed because he slipped and hit the ball twice.
Thanks to a beautiful long shot from İrfan Can Kahveci, it became 1-1 after more than an hour of play. And not long afterwards the 1-2 followed. Turkey was again awarded a penalty, this time after a handball by Andri Gudjohnsen, and this time Çalhanoglu used the penalty successfully.
Ten minutes before the end, Iceland leveled again when Gudjohnsen made up for his mistake by heading in: 2-2. Turkey could therefore start again.
But that worked, thanks to goalkeeper Hákon Valdimarsson. He took too much time with the ball at his feet, after which Kerem Aktürkoglu captured him with a sliding slide, offering Arda Güler an opportunity not to be missed: 2-3.
Deep into injury time, Aktürkoglu completely decided the game. The attacker beautifully placed the ball from just outside the penalty area into the far corner: 2-4.
