Turkey to visit Latvia for win to survive in World Cup qualifiers

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey will face Latvia in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying group match on Monday.

Latvia host Turkey at Daugava Stadium in the capital Riga. The match will begin at 1845GMT.

Held by Norway to a 1-1 draw at home on Friday, Turkey need a win against Latvia to keep their lead hopes alive in the Group G.

The Turkey vs. Latvia match in Istanbul ended 3-3 on March 30, a frustrating result for the home team.

With 12 points in seven matches, Turkey currently sit in the third place in the group led by the Netherlands that have racked up 16 points so far.

Second-place Norway are seeking the Netherlands' mistake as the Norwegian team has 14 points.

Montenegro are hot on Turkey's trail as they have 11 points.

Turkey's opponents Latvia are quite desperate for higher spots as they have bagged just five points.

The group underdogs Gibraltar are still seeking their first points as they lost all their seven matches in the Group G.

Teams will play three more games each to end this phase.

Only the group winners will automatically qualify for the 2022 World Cup. The runners-up in each group will face the playoff stage to fight for limited spots for the Qatar tournament.

Turkey had an unsteady form in the last two matches.

After beating Gibraltar 3-0 on Sept. 4, the team had suffered a devastating 6-1 loss against the Netherlands in Amsterdam and drew with Norway 1-1 in Istanbul.