Overview
Turkey has impressed in Group E when winning 3 out of 4 matches, earning 9 points and still has a chance to compete for the top spot with Spain.
Coach Vincenzo Montella's team had two impressive victories in October, when they defeated Bulgaria 6-1 and Georgia 4-1. However, the heavy 0-6 defeat to Spain in September could be a "life-threatening blow" in the race for direct tickets.
A victory in the upcoming match will help Turkey maintain their hope of being at the top of the table, even if Spain defeats Georgia. However, the goal difference will play a key role when they face Spain in the final round.
Crescent-Stars will certainly be in the top two if they avoid defeat, or if Georgia cannot defeat Spain. In this context, a place in the play-off round is considered the most likely result for their qualifying campaign.
Turkey have not reached the World Cup finals since 2002, but have been there in three of their most recent EURos and reached the quarter-finals in 2024.
It is undeniable that Bulgaria is going through a difficult qualifying campaign. They have lost all 4 matches in Group E, scoring only 1 goal and conceding 16 times.
Aleksandar Dimitrov's side lost to Spain and Georgia with the same score of 0-3 in matches in September, before suffering two more defeats in October. They lost 1-6 to Turkey at home and 0-4 to Spain away.
Bulgaria no longer has a chance to enter the top 2 and can only play for honor in the last two matches of the qualifying round. However, they can still play an important role in deciding which team will win first and second place.
The team has not reached the World Cup finals since 1998, and their most recent major tournament was EURO 2024. This is becoming a challenging period for this national team.
In the history of the confrontation with Turkey, Bulgaria has met 24 times, won 10 and suffered 8 defeats. Notably, Türkiye has won all 3 of their most recent matches.
Personnel situation
Turkey will enter this match with three injury absences, including Eren Elmali, Isak Vural and Ayberk Karapo.
Yunus Akgun is also absent due to injury, but the home team still has many familiar names in the starting lineup such as Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Guler and kerem Akturkoglu.
Kenan Yildiz's future is a topic of interest as both Barcelona and Real Madrid are in high demand for Juventus' striker, and he will be in the starting lineup.
On the Bulgarian side, Anton Nedyalkov, Petko Hristov and Radoslav Kirilov have withdrawn. Captain Kiril Despodov, who has scored 15 goals for the national team, will lead the away team.
Marin Petkov is likely to start, while Martin Minchev will complete the attack trio. Stanislav Shopov is a notable name in midfield, taking on the role of central midfielder.
Expected lineup:
Turkey: Cakir, Muldur, Demiral, Bardakci, Akaydin, Calhanoglu, Yuksek, Yilmaz, Guler, Yildiz, Akturkoglu.
Bulgaria: Mitov, Popov, Chernev, Bozhinov, Georgiev, Shopov, Krastev, Gruev, Petkov, Despodov, Minchev.
The match between Turkey and Bulgaria takes place at 0:00 am on November 16 (Vietnam time).
