Turkey rallies to beat Venezuela 2-1 in World Cup warmup ahead of Group D games
U.S. national team scouts surely were paying attention to Turkey’s final World Cup preparation match, a 2-1 friendly win against Venezuela on a sweltering Saturday evening in Fort Lauderdale.
The United States and Turkey are in Group D and considered slight favorites ahead of Paraguay and Australia. A lively crowd dominated by red-clad Turkish fans at Inter Miami Stadium got to see what the Americans will be going up against in the group finale June 25 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Turkey, nicknamed the Crescent Stars, has been in good form of late, winning five of its past six matches, including World Cup qualifying victories over Romania and Kosovo, a 4-0 friendly win over North Macedonia on June 1. In the initial World Cup qualifying round, they beat Bulgaria 2-0 and tied 2-2 with Spain, one of the World Cup favorites.
After a 24-year absence from the World Cup, expectations are high for this Turkish squad.
Italian coach Vincenzo Montella, who has an impressive resume, leads a high-pressing talented team that includes Real Madrid star Arda Guler and Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz, who is recovering from a calf injury and was not on the roster Saturday.
Yildiz ended the club season with 11 goals and nine assists across 46 Juventus appearances and was Turkey’s top scorer during qualifying with three goals.
Turkey’s scorers on Saturday were Galatasaray teammates Baris Yilmaz, who tied the game in the 44th minute, and Yunus Akgun, who came off the bench in the second half and scored the go-ahead goal with a banger in the 54th minute following a spectacular corner kick from Guler.
Venezuela’s Gleiker Mendoza struck first at the 13-minute mark, giving fans of La Vinotinto reason to cheer after a heartbreaking exit from the South American World Cup qualifying campaign.
“It was a tough, intense match against a cunning South American team, which they often are,” Montella said. “The result was positive, but we definitely have to raise the level in the next match to win it.”
Turkey plays its World Cup opener June 13 against Australia in Vancouver.
Asked about the challenges of traveling long distances in this tri-country World Cup, and having to battle summer heat, Montella shrugged it off.
“This is football, so you have to adapt and those who are better and more capable of adapting will have fewer distractions,” he said. “If we start finding excuses, everything becomes more difficult.”
Venezuela, meanwhile, is the only South American team never to qualify for a World Cup. Its new coach, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, was encouraged by his team’s performance, adding that the heat and humidity took its toll on the players in the second half.
“But I think they gave their all, there is nothing to criticize the players about because they tried to carry out the game plan we set out for them,” he said. “It’s about maintaining the same course, staying on the same path, not straying, and having conviction.”
He is urging his players to raise their expectations and not be satisfied with just competing against the best teams. Venezuela’s starting lineup on Saturday included Inter Miami midfielder Telasco Segovia and former Inter Miami defender Christian Makoun.
“It’s purely a psychological issue, they have to convince themselves that we can do different things,” Vizcarrondo said. “Many times we get stuck thinking we have to compete against great teams, teams that go to World Cups, and we have to go beyond that level. We have to move to a stage where we have a winning mentality.”
He said he plans to stay in the United States and attend at least three World Cup matches involving South American teams.
“We have already made arrangements at the federation level to be able to attend some matches of this World Cup,” he said. “This will give us a benchmark because ultimately, my goal is to qualify for a World Cup.”