Turkey, Croatia in mouthwatering midfield battle
Two of international football's most stacked midfields clash LIVE on beIN tonight.
The speculation on the trials and tribulations of defending champion Spain that dominated the UEFA EURO Group D build-up has taken attention away from the sumptuous midfield battle that awaits when Turkey takes on its vanquished Euro 2008 foe, Croatia, in the opening match of the group later tonight.
In one corner sit the Turks, led by Barcelona general Arda Turan and boasting some of the world's best emerging talent: Nuri Sahin of Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen's Hakan Calhanoglou, rising Fenerbahce star Ozan Tufan and highly-rated Mainz play-maker Yunus Malli, who rejected overtures from Germany to play for Turkey.
If that makes for an impressive mixture of youth and experience, take a look at the red and white-clad players waiting to greet them at Parc Des Princes this evening.
Barcelona passing metronome Ivan Rakitic, Real Madrid passing metronome Luka Modric, veteran Inter Milan attacker Ivan Perisic, boom young attacking midfielder Ante Coric, his Dinamo Zagreb team-mate Marko Rog and highly-rated Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic.
When boom Barcelona midfielder Alen Halilovic can't even make the Croatia squad, a very reasonable case could be made that both these midfields trump that of Spain, inexplicably shorn of Isco and Saul by Vicente Del Bosque.
While Turkey and Croatia may not be as well balanced in the forwards or backs - especially when Dejan Lovrren is among the latter's absentees - the clash of the midfields will not only go a long way to deciding which team wins its group-opener, it may also determine which team wins the overall group.
When it comes to making a prediction for the match, it's hard to go past a Croatia team boasting the potent threat of Mario Mandzukic up front. That's not to say turkey doesn't have firepower of its own in China-based Burak Yilmaz, while recent Dortmund acquisition Emre Mor will be one to keep an eye on.
