The Turkish national football team defeated the Netherlands 4-2 at Ataturk Olympic Stadium to start their 2022 FIFA World Cup journey.
Burak Yilmaz scored a hat-trick to send his team to victory in the opening match of the European World Cup qualifiers. Yilmaz broke the deadlock with an early long-range shot in the 15th minute.
In the 33rd minute, Okay Yokuslu was brought down by Donyell Malen inside the box, a penalty given to Turkey. Yilmaz converted to double the lead in Istanbul. The first half ended 2-0.
Turkey made a great start to the second half when Hakan Calhanoglu made a classy long shot in the 46th minute. After having troubles in defense, the Turkish national team found themselves going from a comfortable 3-0 lead to a precarious 3-2 advantage.
The Netherlands scored a quickfire double in the 75th and 76th minutes to create a chance to level the match on goals by Davy Klaassen and Luuk De Jong.
Yilmaz, however, crushed the hopes of the Dutch with a great free-kick in the 81st minute.
In the dying minutes, goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir saved Memphis Depay's penalty kick, putting the cherry on top.
Yilmaz, 35, became the first player to score a hat-trick against the Netherlands since 1980. Anadolu Agency reported.
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