Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Following a routine 6-0 win over Gibraltar, Turkey will look to book their place in the playoffs when they take on Montenegro at Podgorica City Stadium. The Turks are with one foot in the playoffs as Norway take on Netherlands in Rotterdam on Tuesday evening, but head coach Stefan Kuntz must warn his men against complacency. As always, a man to keep an eye on in the away team will be Inter ace Hakan Calhanoglu, while Burak Yilmaz should continue to lead the line for the visitors.
The hosts, on the other hand, came from two goals behind to share the spoils with star-studded Netherlands. Anyhow, away win should be considered as the Montenegrins are hit by coronavirus. All Adam Marusic, Stevan Jovetic, and Nebojsa Kosovic have been tested positive for COVID-19, which is probably the main reason why we are tempted to put our money on Turkey.
Highlighted Player (Nikola Vukcevic):
Nikola Vukcevic is yet another Montenegro footballer who plays for Braga as a midfielder. The 184-cm-tall player was born in Podgorica on 13 December, 1991. Vukcevic began his senior career at his hometown club Buducnost Podgorica and he was part of the team from 2010 to 2013.
The Montenegro footballer scored four goals in 65 league appearances for the club. In 2013 he joined Braga as a free player and he initially played for the reserve team. After making 31 appearances for Braga B he made his debut for the first team against Vitoria, coming from the bench in the stoppage time. Speaking of his international career, Nikola Vukcevic made his Montenegro debut against Ghana on 5 March, 2014 in a friendly game.
The Hrabri sokoli defeated the Black Stars back then. His main position is defensive midfielder, but he plays as a central midfielder and as attacking midfielder as well. Nikola’s contract with Braga expires on 30 June, 2020.
Highlighted Team (Turkey):
Present on the international stage since 1923, Turkey only started showing some promise during the 70’s, but they had to wait until the turn of the century to place themselves on the map. While they lost all three fixtures at their first ever European Championship finals in 1996, they fared much better four years later, reaching the last eight in Netherlands and Belgium.
Milli Takim were able to build on that result as they went on to reach the podium at the 2002 World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan, while also finishing third at the 2003 Confederations Cup and making it to the semi-finals at the Euro 2008.
Rustu Receber, Hakan Sukur and Emre Belezoglu were important parts of the country’s most successful generation, but the one including Arda Turan, Selcuk Inan, Burak Yilmaz and Hakan Calhanoglu is threatening to surpass their achievements. As the Turkish Super Lig continues the get stronger, the national team follows, and we should expect some big result from Milli Takim in the near future.