Euro 2020: Wales beat Turkey 1-0 to close in on knockout stage
Updated On: 17 June, 2021 07:14 AM IST | Baku (Azerbaijan) | AFP
With two minutes of the half remaining the vocal home support were stunned into silence by Ramsey`s opener. Bale found Ramsey free in the box and the Juventus man chested the ball down before side-footing coolly past Ugurcan Cakir, making amends for missing two glorious earlier chances.
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Wales` defender Connor Roberts (R) celebrates scoring his team`s first goal with Wales` midfielder Harry Wilson during the UEFA EURO 2020 Group A football match between Turkey and Wales at the Olympic Stadium in Baku. Pic/AFP
Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts scored as Wales took a huge step towards reaching the last 16 at Euro 2020 with a 2-0 win over Turkey in Baku on Wednesday. Turkey are facing an uphill challenge to reach the knockout stages after losing their first two Group A matches without scoring. Wales, semi-finalists five years ago, should have won more convincingly, but wasted several chances including a second-half penalty which was blazed over by captain Gareth Bale. Turkey coach Senol Gunes dropped Juventus defender Merih Demiral after he scored an own goal in Friday`s tournament-opening defeat in Italy.
Robert Page kept the same Wales side from Saturday`s 1-1 draw with Switzerland in Baku. A hostile crowd was expected due to the close links between Ankara and Baku due to a centuries-long relationship solidified with Turkey`s support of Azerbaijan in last year`s conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Every early Wales touch was welcomed with whistles from the 30,000 crowd, with up to 4,000 Turkish fans having travelled, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In a very open first half an hour both sides had very good chances to open the scoring including Turkey skipper Burak Yilmaz, whose effort was deflected out for a corner, and Wales` Ramsey. With opportunities at both ends as the two teams refused to sit back, the Crescent Stars had two efforts blocked by last-gap defending on the 30-minute mark. With two minutes of the half remaining the vocal home support were stunned into silence by Ramsey`s opener. Bale found Ramsey free in the box and the Juventus man chested the ball down before side-footing coolly past Ugurcan Cakir, making amends for missing two glorious earlier chances.
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