In the 53rd minute, Ferdi Kadioglu of Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion scored the opening goal against Romania in the World Cup play-off semi-final with a burst of speed followed by a powerful shot. However, the decisive factor in the goal was the superb assist from Arda Güler, the Real Madrid star. From the right side of midfield, Güler curled a pinpoint pass into the penalty area for Kadioglu.
This broke the deadlock for Turkey in what had been a fairly uneventful match up to that point, in which Turkey had enjoyed more possession but had not created many chances. The Turks held on to their 1-0 lead until the final whistle and will now face the winner of the Slovakia v Kosovo match in the final.