Türkiye beat 10-man Latvia in 5-goal EURO 2024 qualifying thriller

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye tasted a 3-2 away win over 10-man Latvia in Group D in a UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying match Friday.

Türkiye scored the first goal when Abdulkerim Bardakci hit in a header, assisted by Merih Demiral in the 23rd minute at Riga's Skonto Stadions.

In the 39th minute, Ferdi Kadioglu's close-range finish was ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR) after his foul against defender Roberts Savalnieks.

Latvia equalized with a header from Eduards Emsis in minute 51, with Vladislavs Gutkovskis assisting.

The Turkish national team took the lead again when Cengiz Under powered a close-range finish in the 61st minute, assisted by Orkun Kokcu.

Gutkovskis slotted the ball into the net for Latvia in the 72nd minute, but his goal was declared offside by the VAR.

The Latvian national team were down to 10 men after Emsis received a second yellow card and was sent off in minute 83.

Kristers Tobers leveled the match inside the box in stoppage time (90+4).

However, a minute later, Irfan Can Kahveci scored the winner and the match ended in favor of Türkiye.

In another Group D match, Wales suffered a surprising 4-2 home defeat against Armenia at Cardiff City Stadium.

Türkiye are atop of the standings with six points, followed by Croatia and Wales with four points each.

- Friday's results:

Group B:

Gibraltar - France: 0-3

Greece - Ireland: 2-1

Group C:

N. Macedonia - Ukraine: 2-3

Malta - England: 0-4

Group H:

Finland - Slovenia: 2-0

San Marino - Kazakhstan: 0-3

Denmark - Northern Ireland: 1-0

Group I:

Kosovo - Romania: 0-0

Andorra - Switzerland: 1-2

Belarus - Israel: 1-2