It looks like Holland’s chances of gaining automatic qualification to the Euro 2016 tournament in France next year are slipping away. The Dutch dropped a 1-0 decision at home to Group A leaders Iceland on September 3 and are now just hanging on to third place in the group. They could drop even further on Sunday, September 6 when they make a road trip to take on fourth-place Turkey at the Konya Büyükşehir Torku Arena in Konya. The Turks blew a couple of points themselves on Thursday as they played to a 1-1 home draw with Latvia.
Turkey vs Holland Soccer Betting Preview
BETTING LINE:
- bet365 lists Holland as the current favorites at 23/20 with Turkey 12/5 and a draw at 9/4
HEAD TO HEAD:
- When the two sides met earlier in the qualifying campaign, Holland’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored just a few seconds before the final whistle to give Holland a 1-1 home draw. Burak Yılmaz scored the opening goal for Turkey. The nations have met 11 times in the past with Holland winning five of them, losing two and drawing the other four. September 6 has been a lucky charm for Turkey as the country has played four games on that date in the past and hasn’t allowed a goal against. This will be Holland’s first road outing since Danny Blind took over as manager from Guus Hiddink, who resigned earlier this year.
Iceland leads the group with 18 points with the Czech Republic in second spot with 16. Holland has just 10 points after seven games with three wins, a draw and three defeats They’ve scored seven goals and allowed six against. Turkey sits just one position and point behind them with 9 points from two victories, three draws and a pair of defeats. They’ve scored eight times and conceded nine. Turkey is 1-1-1 at home while Holland has one win and two losses on the road. Latvia sits in fifth place in the group with four points while Kazakhstan is in last with just one.
Iceland beat Holland at the Amsterdam Arena on Thursday in Blind’s managerial debut courtesy of a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty kick in the 51st minute. The Dutch didn’t help themselves as Bruno Martins Indi was sent off in the 33rd minute with a red card and will be suspended for the contest in Turkey. Dutch captain Arjen Robben came off in the first half with an injury and his status is unknown for Sunday’s game.
Turkey would have passed Holland in the standings if they could have beaten Latvia, but it wasn’t to be as they allowed their opponents to score in second half injury time on a goal by Valērijs Šabala. The home side had taken the lead in the 77th minute courtesy of Selçuk İnan. The Turkish defenders should have kept an eye on Šabala since he’s scored the last four goals for his country against them. Turkey doesn’t have much of a chance to finish in the top two in Group A, but they’ll be giving it their all to battle Holland for third spot and a place in the Euro 2016 qualifying playoffs.