SPORT

Wales aim to silence Turkey in Baku home

Wales will aim to “silence” what will effectively be a home crowd for Turkey when they meet in Baku for their second match of Euro 2020.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are such close geopolitical allies that their shared motto is “two states, one nation”.

At least 30,000 fans from both countries are expected to be at the Baku Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.

“When you come into an away stadium you know you’re going to get abuse,” said Wales captain Gareth Bale.

“But it’s something all us footballers have dealt with in the past – it’s normal. You enjoy it and feed off the atmosphere.

“Of course they’re not saying great things or booing us but you want to silence them.

“It gives you extra motivation, if we needed any more. It’s the atmosphere we enjoy the most and that’s what makes football so good.”

Turkey captain Burak Yilmaz hopes the support will help his side recover from an opening 3-0 defeat against Italy in Rome.

“I would like to thank Azerbaijan citizens. They are our friends and brothers – since we came here we have felt it,” said the 35-year-old Lille striker.

“In Italy we were an away game, 100% from the beginning. Tomorrow we will be at home and it will make a difference.”

After Turkey were soundly beaten in Italy last Friday, Wales started their Euro 2020 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in Baku on Saturday.

The top two sides in each of the competition’s six groups, as well as the four best third-placed teams, will qualify for the second round.

With Wales travelling to Rome to face Group A favourites Italy on Sunday, they could ease the pressure on themselves before that daunting trip – and take a big step towards the last 16 – if they beat Turkey.

Turkey manager Senol Gunes has described the game against Wales as a “final” for his side.

However, his counterpart Robert Page has played down the idea that this is a must-win game for Wales.

“No. There’s another game left. We’re just taking each game as it comes,” said Page.

“They [Turkey] will be looking at this game to get the three points. We’re totally prepared for that.

“It’s not all about the performance. In tournament football it’s about sometimes that you have to find a way to win. We’ve shown we can do that. We’ve shown resilience.

“We’ve also identified this game as one we can do all right in. It’ll make for an entertaining game. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a difficult game.”

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