Halil DerviÅŸoÄŸlu struck his fifth international goal on Saturday night as Turkey got their Nations League C1 campaign underway with a comfortable 4-0 win over Faroe Islands in Istanbul.
Turkey are expected to make a quick return to League B following relegation last time round and got off to the perfect start at the BaÅŸakÅŸehir Fatih Terim.
Cengiz Ünder opened the scoring from long-range eight minutes before the break with Halil netting a classy second following the restart. Picking the ball up just inside the Faroes half, Halil drove towards goal before finishing low past Gunnar Nielsen.
The 22-year-old was withdrawn with 25 minutes to play as Turkey netted twice more late on to take control of C1. Their next outing comes on Tuesday away in Lithuania.
Marcus Forss was a late substitute as Finland were denied a winning start in League B3 by a 93rd-minute Bosnia and Herzegovina equaliser. Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium and that was how it stayed until Edin Dzeko set up Smail Prevljak to rescue a dramatic point.
Marcus played the final 12 minutes in Helsinki to earn his 13th Finland cap. The 22-year-old has scored twice in those outings and has a home game against Montenegro coming up on Tuesday.
Yoane Wissa and DR Congo will be cursing their luck as they suffered a smash-and-grab defeat to Gabon in the opening round of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying.
Yoane started in Kinshasa as DR Congo dominated from start to finish. However, they were undone by Warren Babicka Shavy’s 23rd-minute goal, one of only two shots on target Gabon managed in the 90 minutes.
The appearance was Yoane’s fifth for his nation. The 25-year-old, who has two goals to his name, is next in international action on Wednesday against Sudan.
Tonight’s action sees David Raya and Spain take on Czech Republic in the Nations League while Julian Jeanvier’s Guinea begin their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying campaign against Egypt.