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Turkey beat the Netherlands 4-2 to get their World Cup qualifying campaign started with a bang. Burak Yilmaz scored a fantastic hat-trick to bag all three points.
Yilmaz opened the scoring in the 14th minute as he beat Tim Krul with the help of a deflection. The 35-year-old doubled his side's lead as he slotted in a penalty in the latter stages of the first half. Hakan Calhanoglu opened the second half with a bang. The AC Milan star scored a belter just 30 seconds within the restart.
The Netherlands found a ray of hope after Davy Klassen scored a special goal minutes after coming on. The Dutch pulled another one back as Luuk de Jong reignited their chances of salvaging something out of the game.
But all their hopes were quashed when Yilmaz scored a beautiful free-kick to seal the game for the hosts.
On that note, let's take a look at five talking points from the match.
#5. Netherlands coach Frank de Boer is really having a hard time
Frank de Boer has struggled to get a hold of this side ever since he came on. Under Ronald Koeman, the Netherlands were flying high and reached the UEFA Nations League finals where they narrowly lost out to Portugal. But under De Boer, the Oranje have disappointed so far.
De Boer has managed to win just 2 of his 7 games since he's replaced the current Barcelona boss. Out of the 7 managed, he's won 2, drawn 3 and lost 2. The fans have started getting impatient and if the results do not improve, his job could be on the line.
#4. Turkey bossed the Oranje in the center of the park
The hosts outnumbered the Netherlands in the center of the pitch. Turkey opted for a 4-1-4-1 formation which gave them an extra man when defending.
Moreover, it was a disaster class by Georginio Wijnaldum and Marten de Roon. The Netherlands duo failed to protect their defenders at the back and offered very little going forward.
Meanwhile, Frenkie de Jong was unable to display his capabilities as he lacked support from his team-mates in the center.
#3. Burak Yilmaz was the star performer
Burak Yilmaz scored a brilliant hat-trick to steal the show against the Netherlands. He became the first player to score a hat-trick against the Dutch national team since 1980.
The Turk had Daley Blind gasping for breath. He came out on top of the Dutch back line every time, winning each challenge. Yilmaz won 8 duels last night. His sublime free-kick to beat Krul was just the icing on the cake.
#2. Netherlands looked clueless from defense to attack
The Dutch national team looked lethargic at the back. Blind looked sluggish throughout. Meanwhile, Matthijs de Ligt was unlucky to have the first goal deflected off him.
In midfield and attack, the visitors looked lost for ideas. They failed to speed up the process of transitioning and waited until too many Turkish bodies had the time to get back and re-position themselves. The Netherlands lacked the desire, creativity and the energy to see out the hosts.
#1. Ugarcan Cakir was the savior for the hosts
Although Ugarcan Cakir conceded twice against the Dutch national team, he had a brilliant game. The 24-year-old could also be blamed for one of the goals his side conceded, but he made up for all that with his heroics in the dying minutes of the game.
Cakir made some brilliant saves in stoppage time to deny the visitors. He brilliantly saved a penalty from Memphis Depay late into stoppage time as well. Moreover, he made another great stop to rebuff Depay in the closing stages of the game.
