Turkey's chances of reaching the qualifying playoff for the Qatar 2022 World Cup are now better than Norway's, following Turkey's overwhelming 6-0 victory over Gibraltar and Norway's disappointing scoreless draw against Latvia on Saturday, in the ninth matchday of the European qualifying group stage. Turkey currently has 18 points, one goal ahead of Norway, with Turkey set to face Montenegro and Norway to play against the Netherlands in the final round.
The Netherlands can secure direct qualification to the 2022 World Cup by winning away against Montenegro later, which would bring their points total to 22.
Turkey opened the scoring early, specifically after 11 minutes through Kerem Aktürkoğlu. The situation worsened for Gibraltar when their player Jai Oliviera was sent off in the 22nd minute, leaving his team with ten players.
Turkey continued to score, with Halil Dervişoğlu netting two consecutive goals (38 and 41) to conclude the first half with a 3-0 lead. The Turkish team added three more goals in the second half, scored by Mert Müldür (65), Serdar Dursun (81), and Muraş Demiral (84).
In contrast, Norway, playing without Borussia Dortmund's striker Erling Haaland, failed to secure a win, leaving the advantage for the playoff in Turkey's hands. A Latvian defender saved a shot from Mohamed Elyounoussi before the latter had a goal disallowed for offside (81). Norway threw everything it could into the final minutes but was unable to score the winning goal.
