Turkey and Romania are a couple of wins away from reaching the World Cup finals for the first time in decades, but only one will remain in pursuit of this dream after Thursday's clash.
It's been a while since these two nations have met in an official match, and unfortunately for the visitors, Turkey will be the hosts and there will be no rematch.
Romania have not had much success on the road over the past year, and didn't win any of their last three WC qualifiers away from home.
Turkey have become a formidable side under Vincenzo Montella and won seven of their last 10 home matches. The only national team that beat them as a visitor was the #-ranked team in the world – Spain. And most recently, the Crescent Stars managed to get a draw away in Spain in the rematch.
On paper, Turkey look like the team to back, as they look to end a 24-year World Cup finals drought, but let's see what the bookies have in mind.
How the bookies view it: Turkey to dominate at home
Bookmakers are unanimous in their view that the host nation will have a huge advantage in this match. It is widely known that playing in Turkey is always extremely difficult, whether at the club or national level.
Therefore, you can currently back Turkey at 7/20, while Romania are priced at a substantial 7/1. If you’re interested in a draw in regulation time, you can bet on it at 17/4.
Recent head-to-head: Romania won the last H2H
The last official meeting between Turkey and Romania was almost 13 years ago, when the teams appeared in the same qualification group for the 2014 World Cup. Back then, each team won its away match.
More recently, they met in a friendly international in 2017, and Romania won 2-0.
Players to watch: Yildiz will bring his form to this match
Romania will be significantly weakened in defence, as their starting goalkeeper, Andrei Radu, suffered an injury in his club team’s last match before the international break.
This looks like the perfect opportunity for Kenan Yildiz, who has significantly improved his form in March and is coming off four goal contributions (G2, A2) in his last three matches for Juventus. He also has three goals in his five appearances for Turkey in this World Cup qualifying cycle.
Probable line-ups
Turkey: Cakir, Kadioglu, Bardakci, Demiral, Celik, Yuksek, Calhanoglu, Yildiz, Guler, Aydin, Akturkoglu
Romania: Aioani, Bancu, Burca, Dragusin, Ratiu, Hagi, Marin, Dragomir, Mihaila, Birligea, Man
Anything else catch the eye?
Turkey had some of the most entertaining matches in the qualifiers, with five of their last six games featuring at least four goals.
Romania also saw plenty of action in their matches, so we’ll focus on their away games. Even in their losses, the team has scored at least once in eight consecutive away matches since June 2024.
Both teams showed great form in the final months of 2025, but the hosts look far more convincing at the moment, and many of their key players are in top form. We expect them to win this match, but not without conceding at least one goal.
Think both sides will find the net? Our BTTS Masterclass explains how to spot the fixtures where goals are a given.
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