Turkey, France qualify for Euro 2020

News24
15 Nov 2019, 05:42 GMT+10

Istanbul - Turkey booked their place at Euro 2020 on Thursday after a goalless qualifying draw with Iceland which also sent world champions France to next year's finals.

With two teams qualifying from Group H, leaders Turkey are four points ahead of third-placed Iceland with one match remaining after the stalemate in Istanbul, with France a point behind Turkey in second.

Iceland needed to win to have any chance of qualifying thanks to their inferior head-to-head record with the French but will now have to hope they make the playoffs at the end of the qualifying phase.

Didier Deschamps' France would have qualified for the Euros with a win over Moldova later on Thursday regardless of the result between Iceland and the Turks -- who have been rejuvenated since Senol Gunes returned to take charge in February -- and can now move top of the group.

Former national team goalkeeper Gunes took Turkey to third place at the 2002 World Cup during his first spell as manager between 2000 and 2004, and guided his team to qualification with relative ease, beating and drawing with France and losing only one match.

That upturn in form comes after a dreadful slump under previous coach Mircea Lucescu that saw Turkey fail to qualify for the last year's World Cup in Russia and relegated to third-tier League C in the UEFA Nations League.

The hosts largely kept Iceland at bay in a match of few chances, but had to thank Merih Demiral for making sure of qualification when he brilliantly cleared Hordur Magnusson's header off the line with eight minutes to go.

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