Turkey v Italy Live Commentary & Result, 29/03/2022, Friendlies

That's all from us, we'll see you for the next game, until then, it's goodbye.

Albeit only a friendly, between two sides just knocked out of World Cup contention, this game had it all, and both sides will be massively encouraged by the performances of their younger players, indicating that when the next qualification fixtures come around, their performances will be much, much better.

Raspadori's two goals came from just four shots, and were the only two he got on target. Those two goals did prove crucial though, and despite being less effective in other facets of the game, the 22-year-old Sassuolo forward showed his worth for Roberto Mancini's side in this game with those well-taken finishes. Clinical, is the word.

What a game! For a friendly, that fixture had everything! Italy looked to be out of sight in a more convincing second-half performance, and Raspadori's second put them two goals to the good. Turkey just wouldn't let up though, and Dursun's late goal almost sparked a comeback that could've drawn the game. Italy held on though, seeing out a victory that showed a good reaction following their failure to qualify for the World Cup.

90' + 4' FULL-TIME: TURKEY 2-3 ITALY.

90' + 3' Soyuncu has been dominant at both ends of the pitch, making an assist from two key passes whilst completing more touches and passes than any other Turkey player. He's also chipped in with seven tackles and four clearances defensively. Rock.

90' + 1' OVER!!! Under's free-kick is headed away back into his path, and his sweet half-volley is deflected wide for another Turkey corner!

90' + 1' We're into the first of four additional minutes to close out this game.

90' Under sets his sights from a good 40 yards and blasts his shot a good 40 yards high and wide of the goal, too!

L. Bonucci

G. Raspadori

89' Double goalscorer Raspadori comes off after a fantastic performance, to be replaced by defensive reinforcements personified in Leonardo Bonucci.

A. Belotti

G. Scamacca

88' Scamacca comes off following a mixed performance from the Sassuolo frontman, and he's replaced by Torino striker Andrea Belotti.

M. Müldür

Yellow Card

86' Muldur catches Zaccagni late as Italy play the ball through the lines, and the Turkish wing-back receives a yellow card for his troubles.

85' SAVED!!!! A cross from deep by Under is straight onto the head of Dursun, but the goalscorer's header is tipped over the bar via an excellent hand by Donnarumma! He hasn't been at his best, but that was a world-class save from the Italy keeper!

Ç. Söyüncü

Assist

83' It was an absolute bullet of a header from Soyuncu to put it in Dursun's path, and no wonder Donnarumma was in no man's land - he'd come to save the original shot and paid the price!

S. Dursun

Goal

83' GOOOAAALLLL!!!! Turkey pull one back! It's another bizarre goal as Soyuncu's header finds Dursun, who pokes the ball past the advancing Donnarumma and then again into the roof of the net! 3-2 and game on, but Donnarumma again looked far from convincing there!

83' Kutlu is put into space down the left and crosses, but De Sciglio is in the way to block it behind for a Turkish corner.

81' It's been a frustrating game for Scamacca, who despite completing three key passes, has missed the target with all four of his attempts. Whilst his nine duels are more than any other Italian still on the pitch, they've seen him concede three fouls and he's lost the ball 19 times, more than anyone else on the pitch.

79' Scamacca tries to twist and turn his way out of two tacklers, but slips and stays down as play continues. It's eventually brought to a stop, but he is able to get to his feet.

T. Antalyalı

H. Çalhanoğlu

77' Turkey also make rotations, with captain Calhanoglu brought off for Taylan Antalyali.

D. Sinik

E. Ünal

77' Unal has led the line well for the hosts, but comes off now for Dogukan Sinik.

S. Sensi

M. Pessina

77' Pessina is the third player withdrawn, and Stefano Sensi will take his place in midfield.

M. Locatelli

B. Cristante

76' Cristante also comes off, replaced by Manuel Locatelli.

A. Bastoni

G. Chiellini

76' Italy too make a triple-sub, bringing off their captain Chiellini for Alessandro Bastoni.

75' Zaccagni cuts inside from the left but is clipped late by Ayhan, giving Biraghi another crossing opportunity into the hosts' box.

73' Biraghi's game-high three key passes have warranted two assists, and his crossing from the left has been dangerous all game long - three of his seven attempts have found a blue shirt in the Turkey box.

71' A cross-field ball to Zaccagni looks to have been put behind for a corner by Soyuncu, but the last touch came off the Italy winger and so a goal-kick will take place.

C. Biraghi

Assist

69' A second assist for Biraghi, and a second goal for Raspadori, showing Italy's left side has worked like a well-oiled machine thus far!

G. Raspadori

Goal

69' GOOOAAALLLL!!!! Italy have three!!! A lofted pass to the back post looks to have come to nothing, but no one claims it and Biraghi knocks it down. Raspadori is on hand to smash the bouncing ball into the back of the net, and it's 3-1 to the Azzurri!

68' Cristante is shoved off the ball by his opposite number Unal, but the Turkey striker hits the ball with his hand trying to control it, and concedes the free-kick.

66' OVER!!! Italy tap the ball around the edge of Turkey's box well, and it comes to Scamacca, who picks his spot before curling a good effort just over the bar!

65' Unal is caught late by Chiellini right on the edge of Italy's box, but despite having just the keeper to beat if he'd kept the ball, and Turkey forward isn't given a free-kick, nor Chiellini a card!

64' SAVED!!! Ucan swings a corner to the far post, where Ayhan side-foots a low volley that Donnarumma sees late and has to get down to hold!

S. Dursun

K. Aktürkoğlu

63' Akturkoglu is the next to be substituted by Stefan Kuntz, and he's replaced by Serdar Dursun.

B. Kutlu

R. Yılmaz

63' Yilmaz is also withdrawn, and on comes Berkan Kutlu.

S. Özcan

D. Toköz

62' Tokoz comes off in the first of a triple change for Turkey, and Salih Ucan replaces him.

62' Cristante's headed equaliser got Italy back into this game, but the midfielder has been busy at both ends. Involved in seven duels, the Roma man has won all of his contests in the air, as well as making three tackles and a block to win the ball seven times in total. Composed.

61' Chiellini drives forward to feed Biraghi, who finds Tonali inside. He's immediately hacked down by Tokoz, and Turkey concede the free-kick.

59' Scamacca puts Pessina into space on the edge of the box and the midfielder shoots, only for it to be blocked by Soyuncu and deflect straight back out to him.

57' Tokoz drives past Cristante but is barrelled over by the Italy midfielder on the edge of their box, and it's another chance for Calhanoglu at a slightly further distance.

55' Zaccagni looks to get past Soyuncu down the right, but the Leicester City centre-back is unmoved and ushers the ball over the line for a goal kick.

53' BLOCKED!!! Italy flood forward on the break and Zaccagni finds Scamacca. He cuts it back to Zaccagni, whose shot is deflected wide for another Azzurri corner!

51' Donnarumma punches the ball clear from the corner, to Muldur, who tries his luck from similar range to his captain in the first half. He's no Calhanoglu though, and skies the shot towards the back of the stand behind the goal.

51' SAVED!!! Calhanoglu hits the free-kick with venom, and across goal, forcing a late save from Donnarumma to tip it behind!

50' Chiellini brings Tokoz to ground right on the edge of the Italy box, and despite their captain's protests, the Azzurri have a free-kick to defend in perfect range for Turkey's skipper.

49' Acerbi's all over Akturkoglu as the Turkey winger looks to release the ball, and concedes the free-kick near the halfway line.

47' Soyuncu attempts to knock the ball past Pessina, but can't keep it in the field of play and concedes a corner.

46' Italy get us back underway, and the second half is off and running!

M. Zaccagni

N. Zaniolo

46' Zaniolo is withdrawn by Roberto Mancini at half-time, replaced by Mattia Zaccagni.

The teams are back out for the second half, and if it's anything like the first we are in for a treat to say the least.

Under has been the stand-out player so far, scoring that earlier opener and causing Italy problems for the whole half. He's also made more passes in Italy's half than any other player, two of which have been key passes, and should prove to be just as threatening in the second half.

Wow, that half had everything! Turkey's early goal shocked Italy, who took a while to hit their straps. Turkey's defence held firm - until it didn't, with Cristante's headed equaliser being followed up by Raspadori's close-range finish just four minutes later. The two goalkeepers will be disappointed with their efforts so far, but for a neutral, this is turning out to be one hell of a game!

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: TURKEY 1-2 ITALY.

N. Zaniolo

Yellow Card

45' + 1' Zaniolo pulls back Soyuncu as he looks to cross the ball into the box, and the Italy winger's cynical foul sees him yellow carded.

45' + 1' We're into a minute of added time at the end of the first half.

45' SAVED!!!! After attempted crosses from both sides are cut out by Italy, it falls to Calhanoglu, who fires a dipping volley from 30 yards that Donnarumma really had to stretch to tip over the bar! He's definitely capable of pulling those shots out of the bag, and we've just seen another from the Turkey captain!

44' Under's cross-field pass looks to be a beauty as it finds Yilmaz on the fly, but the young wing-back can't quite keep it in and so Italy will take a goal-kick.

42' Donnarumma's attempted clearances smashes Unal right in the face, and the Turkey forward goes down temporarily before finding his feet again.

41' Demiral's poor touch and turn almost allows Scamacca a chance to nick another for Italy, but Bayindir spares his blushes by hoofing it clear and out for a throw.

S. Tonali

Assist

39' It wasn’t the best of kicks from Bayindir, but the skill of Tonali to not only cut it out, but knock it forward with enough power to find Raspadori in the box, just shows why he is one of Europe's most highly-rated young midfielders.

G. Raspadori

Goal

39' GOOOAAALLLLL!!! It's another for the Azzurri!!!! Bayindir's poor goal kick is intercepted by Tonali, who knocks it forward to Raspadori. He steps out of Ayhan's challenge, and fires it under the goalkeeper to make it 2-1! What a turnaround from the visitors!

37' Under cuts inside from the right and looks to shoot from 20 yards, but Italy are wise to his threat and crowd him out with four players, re-gaining possession for the Azzurri.

C. Biraghi

Assist

35' Biraghi recovered from that foul to swing in a near-perfect cross, and his reward was a well-taken equalising goal!

B. Cristante

Goal

35' GOOOAAAALLLLL!!!! Italy are level!!!! It's a beauty of a free-kick and the cross lands perfectly on the head of Cristante, who rises highest at the front post to head into the bottom corner! 1-1, and we're back on level terms!

34' Muldur takes a ball flush to the face but wins the following challenge, unfortunately leaving a late boot on Biraghi to concede a free-kick in a good crossing position for Italy.

33' Zaniolo looks to beat Yilmaz down the right, but Akturkoglu arrives to help out and the two Turks eventually force him into knocking the ball out for a goal-kick.

31' Turkey's lead came early and rather fortunately, but they've not let up whatsoever since scoring the opener. Italy have still had the lion's share of the ball, but Turkey's low block and compact defence is giving them very few opportunities to play through. And only the counter, the hosts look increasingly threatening.

29' BLOCKED!!! Unal wins it from Tonali in midfield, and finds Under with Italy's defence scattered. He backheels to the arriving Calhanoglu, but the Turkey captain's long-range effort is blocked inside the area by Acerbi!

27' Demiral intercepts a Tonali pass, and the hulking centre-back then sets off on a rampage up the right wing. He barely gets past halfway, but stops Italy's momentum in its tracks, meaning they'll have to build from the back once again.

26' Cristante's brilliant backheel almost puts Scamacca through on goal, but Soyuncu intervenes with a fantastic sliding challenge to knock the ball away from danger!

24' The hosts have had just 39.7 per cent possession so far, yet lead and have had a host of half-chances. They're looking dangerous every time they break, particularly on the right, where Under has had far too much freedom to roam and play.

22' Akturkoglu's fantastic reverse ball sends Yilmaz through on the left. He's quickly closed down but gets a low cross into the box, where a Chiellini block takes it away from the feet of Unal!

20' Cristante plays a smart throughball forward for Zaniolo to latch onto, but Bayindir gets to the ball ahead of him and smothers it for Turkey.

19' Zaniolo runs out of options on the right and cuts in-field to generate shooting space. He does get an opportunity to shoot, but wastes it from 25 yards as he blazes an awful effort well over the bar.

18' Zaniolo crosses into the area with good pace, but Tonali is just a fraction too slow to latch onto the ball and it goes behind for a Turkey goal kick.

16' Under's causing problems again down the right, drawing in three Italy players before finding Akturkoglu in space in the middle. He pulls the trigger from 25 yards, but shouldn't have bothered as his shot flies high over the crossbar.

15' A threatening cross from Scamacca forces a panicked clearance from Demiral. It falls back down for Zaniolo, but he mistimes his aerial shot and the ball skids away and back into Turkey possession.

14' A fantastic ball through the lines from Calhanoglu puts Under into space once again. He heads for the box and drills in a low cross, but a deflection takes it to safety before Unal can pounce.

13' Soynucu's down inside his own six-yard box following a collision at the corner, and luckily gets to his feet soon after. The hosts didn't want to make a second defensive substitution just four minutes after Kabak went off.

12' Biraghi gets into space again and thunders down the left, but his low cross deflects off Tokoz and goes behind for a corner.

10' WIDE! Biraghi gets into space down the left following a throw-in and whips a cross into the box. Scamacca attacks it at the front post, but his clever flicked volley sends the ball the wrong side of the post and into the side netting!

K. Ayhan

O. Kabak

9' Kabak looks to have picked up an early injury, and is withdrawn after less than 10 minutes to be replaced by Kaan Ayhan at centre-back.

7' Raspadori looks to advance into the area and shoot but goes down following one hell of a shoulder barge from Demiral. The Italy winger appeals for a spot-kick, but the referee isn't convinced.

6' Zaniolo cuts inside and looks to shoot from just inside the area, but it's not struck very hard and Bayindir can easily hold it.

E. Ünal

Assist

4' It's Unal who spread the ball wide for Under to latch onto, and Turkey's frontman begins the post-Burak Yilmaz era with an early assist!

C. Ünder

Goal

4' GOOOOAAAALLLL!!! Turkey take an early lead!!!! Under picks it up on the right and drives into the area. He's at a tight angle, but fires low and the shots squirms through the legs of Donnarumma and into the back of the net! A howler by his standards, but Under won't care as he's put Turkey 1-0 up!

3' Tokoz is down after being caught late by Raspadori in his own half. The home crowd aren't happy with the referee for playing on, but he eventually brings play to a halt for the Turkey midfielder to receive treatment.

2' Given the poor showing by their more experienced compatriots against North Macedonia last time out, there's a good chance that Italy's young guns will be granted more freedom by Roberto Mancini in this game, allowing them to throw caution to the wind against Turkey's back three.

1' Turkey kick us off, and we're underway in this international friendly!

The two sides head out onto the pitch, and we're almost ready for kick-off in the pouring rain in Vonya!

Italy have culled several of the players who featured in their dramatic loss to Macedonia, but that gives a chance for several of their less experienced players to get a run-out, including Gianluca Scamacca, who leads the line of a front three with just 18 caps between them.

Burak Yilmaz scored Turkey’s only goal in their 3-1 loss to Portugal last time out, and retired from international football straight after the final whistle. His 77 caps and 31 goals will certainly be missed, but his namesake Ridvan Yilmaz does start at left-wing-back to win just his sixth cap.

ITALY SUBS: Salvatore Sirigu, Pierluigi Gollini, Manuel Locatelli, Stefano Sensi, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Andrea Belotti, Joao Pedro, Emerson Palmieri, Nicolo Barella, Leonardo Bonucci, Mattia Zaccagni, Andrea Bastoni.

ITALY (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Mattia De Sciglio, Francesco Acerbi, Giorgio Chiellini, Cristiano Biraghi; Matteo Pessina, Bryan Cristante, Sandro Tonali; Nicolo Zaniolo, Gianluca Scamacca, Giacomo Raspadori.

TURKEY SUBS: Sinan Bolat, Ugurcan Cakir, Mehmet Zeki Celik, Salih Ozcan, Berkan Kutlu, Serdar Dursun, Dogukan Sinik, Taylan Antalyali, Caner Erkin, Orkun Kokcu, Umut Bozok, Kaan Ayhan.

TURKEY (3-4-3): Altay Bayindir; Ozan Kabak, Merih Demiral, Caglar Soyuncu; Mert Muldur, Dorukhan Tokoz, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ridvan Yilmaz; Cengiz Under, Enes Unal, Muhammed Kerem Akturkoglu.

That side of course are Italy, who suffered a shock 1-0 loss to North Macedonia thanks to Aleksandar Trajkovski’s 92nd minute winner, meaning the Azzurri will miss a second consecutive World Cup for the first time in their illustrious history.

Portugal’s two first-half goals, and one in second-half stoppage time, put paid to Turkey’s chances of appearing at the World Cup in Qatar, and the hosts will be hoping they can react well enough to beat another side who were eliminated in the recent play-offs

Hello, and welcome to live coverage of this international friendly match, between Turkey and Italy in Konya.

Turkey v Italy Live Commentary, 29/03/2022

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