The Turkish football national team is gearing up to take on Austria in what promises to be an electrifying 17th encounter between the two teams.
This historic match, set for Tuesday, serves as a crucial stepping stone in their preparation for the upcoming Euros.
In their previous 16 encounters, with seven hosted in Türkiye and nine in Austria, the balance of victories tilts slightly in Austria’s favor, with eight wins compared to Türkiye’s seven, while one match ended in a deadlock.
Historically, the Turkish Crescent-Stars have found the net 22 times in these encounters, while Austria have responded with 18 goals.
Despite a slow start, failing to score in the first six matches, Türkiye have shown significant improvement, notching goals in eight of the last 10 matchups.
Türkiye have been particularly dominant in recent years, winning six of the last eight matches against Austria, with one draw and a single loss.
The most recent clash between these two teams took place on March 29, 2016, in Vienna, where Türkiye emerged victorious with a 2-1 win in a friendly match at the Ernst Happel Stadium, the venue for Tuesday’s showdown.
Goals from Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Arda Turan secured the win for Türkiye, while Austria’s lone goal came from Zlatko Junuzovic.
In Vienna, the two teams have faced off nine times, with Austria claiming victory in five matches, and Türkiye in three and one, ending in a draw.
Austria have been more prolific in front of their home crowd, scoring 14 goals compared to Türkiye’s nine.
This match against Austria marks the Crescent-Stars’ 624th match in their illustrious history.
Over the past 101 years, the Turkish national team has played 623 matches, including 341 official and 282 friendly matches.
They have secured 242 wins and 147 draws and suffered 234 losses (one of which was by default).
Playing on various grounds, including 267 matches away, 272 at home and 84 on neutral ground, Türkiye has scored 851 goals while conceding 889 goals.
Having faced off against 91 different national teams, Türkiye have played 539 matches against European teams, 34 against Asian teams, 24 against African teams, 23 against American teams, and three against Oceanian teams.
Notably, Türkiye’s only default victory came against Greece in a match that ended in a 0-0 draw, but it was later awarded to Türkiye by FIFA due to Greece fielding an ineligible player.
Under Italian coach Vincenzo Montella, Türkiye will play their sixth match against Austria.
Montella, who took over recently, has had a mixed record so far, winning the first three matches, drawing the fourth, and losing the fifth.
Despite this setback, Türkiye have shown promise under Montella’s leadership, scoring nine goals while conceding four.
This match against Austria is Türkiye’s second outing in 2024, following their recent match against Hungary, which ended in a 1-0 defeat for Türkiye.
On the other hand, Austria secured a 2-0 victory against Slovakia in their recent friendly match, setting the stage for an exciting clash between the two teams.
Both Türkiye and Austria will be looking to make a strong impression as they prepare for the upcoming Euro 2024.
Türkiye are set to compete in Group F against Portugal, the winner of Path C (Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg), and the Czech Republic, while Austria will be in Group D facing France, the Netherlands, and the winner of Path A (Wales-Poland).