Sabasports Match Preview
UEFA Nations League: Hungary vs Turkey
Kickoff Time: 2025-03-24 01:00(HKT)
Source:REUTERS/Murad Sezer
In the first leg, Hungary lost 1-3 to Turkey away from home. From the match statistics, Hungary had only 38% possession throughout the game, and their control in midfield was clearly inferior to that of Turkey. This severely limited their effectiveness in counter-attacks. Hungary employed a 3-4-3 formation, primarily focusing on defending and countering. They aimed to compress the opponent’s attacking space and look for opportunities to counter-attack. However, faced with the disadvantage in midfield, Hungary had little ability to stop Turkey’s rapid advancement and breakthroughs on the flanks. Additionally, Hungary’s forwards lacked standout individual capability, and their offensive tactics were quite simplistic, relying mostly on crosses from the wings to create threats.
With two key assists from Oguz Aydin and a goal and assist from Kerem Akturkoglu, Turkey defeated Hungary 3-1 at home in the first leg. Looking at the match statistics, Turkey clearly led Hungary in several key metrics and dominated the game. Turkey used a 4-2-3-1 formation, excelling in organizing attacks through possession and creating threats with breakthroughs and crosses from the wings. Moreover, the presence of Hakan Calhanoglu provided Turkey’s attack with more options; he not only orchestrated the offense but also posed a threat to the opponent’s goal with long-range shots and set pieces.
After the first leg, Turkey holds a psychological advantage. Additionally, their strong midfield control left Hungary with few options. Most of the time, Hungary had to shrink their defense and rely on counter-attacks, remaining in a passive position throughout the match. In the second leg, it would be prudent to continue to favor the strong midfield control of Turkey to see them advance successfully.
Hungary’s Last 5 Games: LDLWD
25-03-21 Turkey 3-1 Hungary
24-11-20 Hungary 1-1 Germany
24-11-17 Netherlands 4-0 Hungary
24-10-15 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-2 Hungary
24-10-12 Hungary 1-1 Netherlands
Turkey’s Last 5 Games: WLDWW
25-03-21 Turkey 3-1 Hungary
24-11-20 Montenegro 3-1 Turkey
24-11-17 Turkey 0-0 Wales
24-10-15 Iceland 2-4 Turkey
24-10-12 Turkey 1-0 Montenegro
Head To Head Record:
25-03-21 Turkey 3-1 Hungary
24-03-23 Hungary 1-0 Turkey
20-11-19 Hungary 2-0 Turkey
20-09-04 Turkey 0-1 Hungary
13-03-27 Turkey 1-1 Hungary
Prediction: Turkey to win or Draw