| UEFA Nations League | |
| MATCH INFO | |
MATCH :
| Montenegro V/s Türkiye
|
COMPETITION : | Round 6
|
| DATE: | 20-11-2024
|
TIME:
| 1:15 AM IST (UTC +5:30)
|
STADIUM:
| Gradski Stadion Niksic
|
| Montenegro | Lineup |
Possible XI: Nikic; M. Vukcevic, Sipcic, Vujacic, Gasevic; Jankevic, Bacic; Radulovic, Jovovic, Camaj; Jovetic. | |
| Türkiye | Lineup |
Possible XI: Gunok; Celik, Demiral, Akaydin, Elmali; Kokcu, Yuksek; Akgun, Guler, Akturkoglu; Yildiz. | |
Preview: Montenegro Vs Türkiye
Needing a victory to guarantee promotion to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League, Turkey travel to the Gradski Stadion in Niksic to face already-relegated Montenegro in Tuesday's League B Group 4 finale.:
As was the case when the two sides locked horns in Cardiff two months ago, there were no goals to be had in Turkey's forgettable meeting with Wales on Saturday, although Kerem Akturkoglu in particular will be ruing what could have been.
Indeed, the 26-year-old Benfica attacker fluffed his lines from the penalty spot with 89 minutes on the clock, thereby ensuring that Wales would still be in with a slim chance of bumping Turkey down to the runners-up spot on the final matchday.
However, the formula for Vincenzo Montella's side is simple; win and they will be promoted to League A for the very first time, but any other outcome will open the door for Wales to usurp them at the summit, as there is nothing to separate the two sides on head-to-head results.
Overall goal difference will be the crucial tie-breaker if Turkey and Wales finish level on points, but Montella's side already boast the superior record in that column, and few will expect a pointless Montenegro to spring a major surprise in midweek.
While they were stunted by Craig Bellamy's side on matchday five, Turkey have avoided defeat in all of their Nations League matches so far in the 2024-25 cycle, and they have only been beaten in one of their last five away games in the competition.
| Broadcast Lists | |
|
| |
About UEFA Nations League:
History
The UEFA Nations League is a international football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
The first tournament began in September 2018. The four group winners from League A qualified for the finals, played in Portugal in June 2019. The competition replaces the international friendly matches previously played on the FIFA International Match Calendar, with European national teams engaging in more frequent competitive matches against other European national teams of comparable level.
Since 1999, various UEFA bodies had discussed national associations' needs for more competitive fixtures, including more attractive international friendlies, more competitive matches and increased revenue. In 2001, UEFA proposed three potential formats for a new national team competition, with a first edition tentatively planned for 2004–2007. However, this ultimately did not come to fruition.
In October 2013, Norwegian Football Association President Yngve Hallén confirmed that talks had been held to create a third full national-team international tournament for UEFA members in addition to the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship.
The concept of the UEFA Nations League would see all of UEFA's member associations' national teams divided into a series of groups based upon a ranking formulated using their recent results, where they would be promoted and relegated to other groups according to their results within the group. The proposed tournament would take place on dates on the FIFA International Match Calendar that were previously allocated for international friendlies and would not affect the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship.
In March 2014, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino stated that one of the benefits of the proposal would be to help "less glamorous" national associations arrange games.
The Royal Belgian Football Association's general secretary, Steven Martens, said that lower-ranked nations would still benefit financially from the competition, as the television contract with UEFA would be centralised. The UEFA Nations League was unanimously adopted by the 54 UEFA member associations at the XXXVIII Ordinary UEFA Congress in Astana on 27 March 2014.
