Euro 2020: Wales Secures Victory over Turkey at Baku Olympic Stadium

The national men’s football teams of Turkey and Wales have played the second group game of Euro 2020 at Baku’s Olympic Stadium on Wednesday. Two goals became enough for Wales to win the game.

Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey scored the first goal in the first half at 42nd minute to take the lead. Right-back Connor Roberts found the net before the final whistle at 95th minute, securing three points for his team.

“I couldn’t be more proud. I’ve just said to them that to create the number of chances we did is unbelievable. We are disappointed we didn’t score more, but to win in the manner we did, credit goes to the players,” UEFA quoted Wales manager Rob Page as saying in a post-match interview.

Page’s Turkish counterpart Shenol Gunesh said that although his players found a tempo and balanced the game, they failed to score an equalizer, which could change the game’s scenario.

The national teams of Turkey, Wales, Italy, and Switzerland are placed in Group A of Euro 2020. 

The Italian players gave no chance to their Swiss counterparts with a 3-0 win in the group’s other game that also took place Wednesday at Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Italy now leads the group with six points. Four points put Wales in the back seat to Italy. The Swiss and Turkish teams come in at number three and four, respectively.

The next matches of the group will take place on June 20. Turkey will play with Switzerland in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. On the same day, Italy, which has been showing one of the best performances of Euro 2020 so far, will meet Wales in Rome.

The 2020 UEFA European Championship, commonly referred to as EURO 2020, is the ultimate football championship of national teams in Europe. The tournament was initially scheduled to take place from June 12 - July 12, 2020, in twelve cities, including Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. However, on March 17, 2020, UEFA postponed the tournament for a year amidst the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The Executive Committee of UEFA announced last year’s June that the tournament would take place from June 11 to July 11, 2021.

Azerbaijan’s iconic Baku Olympic Stadium is playing host to three group games and one quarter-final game within the championship. Along with Azerbaijan, the tournament’s games are played in Russia, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Romania, England, Scotland, Spain, Germany, and Hungary.