Austria | VS
| Turkey |
| Date/Time: | Sep 6, 2011, 6:30 pm(GMT) |
| Competition: | UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying |
| Live/Repeat: | Live |
| Venue: | Ernst-Happel-Stadion (Wien) |
Austria vs Turkey – Euro 2012 Qualification Preview
Germany has already booked the top spot in Group A, but the second place position is still open to three teams. Tuesday’s Austria vs Turkey Euro 2012 qualification match will in all likelihood bring clarity to which team will ultimately grab the second playoff spot.
Arda Turan is Turkey's main threat but Burak Yilmaz is slowly establishing himself as the lead striker for Turkey
Austria vs Turkey
Having lost 7 out of their last 8 games Austria have clearly been struggling as of late. Their 6-2 loss to Germany wasn’t all that surprising to a team that has now let in 16 goals in 7 matches. They stand 6 points behind second place Turkey but a win in this fixture followed by Turkey losing to Germany could mean that Austria could potentially squeak into second place.
Turkey’s hopes of getting back into a major tournament almost unraveled this past Friday when they were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Kazakhstan until the 95th minute. Arda’s free kick took a huge deflection and gave Turkey a deserved win. Meanwhile, third place Belgium let in a goal in injury time to Azerbaijan – which meant that in minutes, Turkey’s fate had changed tremendously for the good.
Goals from Gokhan Gonul and Arda gave the Euro 2008 semifinalists a 2-0 win in the Turkey vs Austria match several months back. But with the start of the Turkish Premier League being delayed by a month, many players find themselves out of game shape and form. Add to that key players that will be missing through injury or suspensions – like Galatasaray’s influential midfielder in Selcuk Inan – and you will understand why Turkey had such difficulty with Kazakhstan this past weekend.
