Wales captain Gareth Bale said the team will feed off a hostile atmosphere created by a large Turkish fan contingent at Wednesday’s Group A match in Baku, and the reception will only serve as extra motivation to silence those fans.
Thousands of Turkish fans are expected to travel to the Azerbaijan capital for the game and are likely to create a partisan atmosphere for what is a must-win game for Senol Gunes’s Turkey side at the Olympic Stadium.
It will be a stark contrast for Wales, who played out their 1-1 draw with Switzerland in Baku in front of 8,782 fans in the stadium.
“When I’ve played in Turkey before, the atmosphere has been incredible,” Bale told a news conference on Tuesday. “Of course, they will be cheering on the Turkish team but you need crowds in these tournaments.
“No problem with (hostility). We’re used to playing away games in front of hostile crowds. This is what we do for a living. If anything it should spur us on to be a bit more ruthless on the pitch.
“Hopefully we can keep them silent.”
Rob Page’s Wales were restricted to 38% ball possession against Switzerland, with striker Kieffer Moore scoring from one of their two attempts on target as they came from behind to snatch a crucial point.
Although he would not label the match against the Turks as a “must-win”, Page believes three points should put them in the driving seat for qualification to the knockout stages.
But he is expecting another tight contest against Turkey who arrived at the Euros with victories over Netherlands and Norway in World Cup qualifiers but slumped to a 3-0 defeat by Italy in the opening match of the tournament.
“They had a very difficult opener and will be looking at us to get the full three points. We’re fully prepared for a tough game,” Page said.
“We’ve also identified this game as the one we can do alright in. It’s about finding a way to win. If we can get four points from two games then it sets us up nicely.”
Turkey coach Senol Gunes and captain Burak Yilmaz said the team would bounce back against Wales on Wednesday after a disappointing 3-0 loss to Italy in their first match of the European Championship.
“We had two devastating days after the Italy game,” Yilmaz told a press conference on Tuesday ahead of their second Group A match at Baku’s Olympic Stadium.
His team are hoping that the presence of many of their fans in Azerbaijan, which has close ethnic and cultural ties with Turkey, will help earn them three sorely needed points.
“Our fans are always with us. With their support and unity in the team, we are back on our feet now and focused on our goals,” he said.
“We have a very difficult game tomorrow. But we are aware of our mistakes in the first game, and we had realistic meetings. I believe we will be what is expected of us tomorrow.”
Gunes has plenty to ponder after a meek performance in the Italy match, when Turkey failed to make any real impact. He echoed Yilmaz’s remarks about the need to take an honest look in the mirror.
“Bad game, bad outcome. We are not finding excuses for our bad performance … Now we have to stop being sorry and get to work,” Gunes said. “We know the weaknesses of our game, and we have to play with a new approach tomorrow.”
“Wales are a strong team and they played the semis in the last tournament. We have a different approach and a different philosophy from them. We can get 4 or 6 points from the next 2 games, but the aim is to get to the knockout stage,” he added.
Gunes said he may make a couple of changes to the team that played Italy. “I have trust in everyone in the squad,” he said.
He said Wales had shown a defensive approach, which the Turkish squad had analysed. “For tomorrow’s game we are not thinking about if it will be three or four players (in defence). I prefer they’d play without a defence,” Yilmaz joked.
