Türkiye stun Croatia 1-0 in away match, top EURO 2024 qualifying group

By Can Erozden

Visitors Türkiye defeated Croatia 1-0 in the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers to top Group D on Thursday.

At Osijek's Opus Arena, Turkish forward Baris Alper Yilmaz scored the winning goal in the 30th minute.

Following a long through ball by Türkiye midfielder Salih Ozcan, Yilmaz chipped the ball over Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic to put the ball into the empty net.

The Croatians seemed nervous as they were not expecting the visitors' lead.

Croatia put all their efforts into the attack in the second half. Croatian forward Dion Drena Beljo made an attempt, but his shot in the area was saved by Türkiye goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir in the 82nd minute.

After a few minutes, Cakir plunged to save another shot by Beljo.

In the 90th minute, a penalty for Croatia was ruled out after a VAR review by referee Anthony Taylor.

So Vincenzo Montella's men won the nail-biting match 1-0.

It was Montella's first win as head coach for Türkiye. The 49-year-old was hired in September.

Meanwhile, Croatia were handed their first loss in the group.

Leaders Türkiye have 13 points in six matches.

Croatia dropped to second spot with 10 points, but they have a game in hand. Armenia and Wales have seven points each. Latvia, who have already eliminated, beat Armenia 2-0 to get their first points in Group D.

In their next fixture, Türkiye will host Latvia on Sunday. Croatia will visit Wales in Cardiff on the same day.

The best two teams from each group will qualify for the EURO 2024. Host nation Germany have qualified automatically.

- Thursday's results:

Latvia - Armenia: 2-0

Spain - Scotland: 2-0

Greek Cypriot Administration - Norway: 0-4

Croatia - Türkiye: 0-1

Albania - Czech Republic: 3-0

Faroe Islands - Poland: 0-2

Andorra - Kosovo: 0-3

Belarus - Romania: 0-0