Ronaldo and Portugal Training Site in Palm Beach
Join Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal as they gear up for their match in Palm Beach Gardens. Get an exclusive look at their training site!
Turkey and Romania meet Thursday in Istanbul, in a single-elimination semifinal of the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs.
Turkey enters as the clear favorite, ranked 26th in the world after finishing second in Group E behind Spain. Vincenzo Montella’s side went 7-1-2 across qualifying with a 17-goal attack powered by Real Madrid star Arda Güler and Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz.
Turkey closed the group stage with a gritty 2-2 draw in Spain, and the Crescent Stars have not lost at home in meaningful competition, making Tüpraş Stadyumu a tough environment for any visiting side.
Watch Turkey vs. Romania on Fubo
Romania enters ranked 47th and reached the playoffs not as a group runner-up, but through its Nations League group title after finishing qualifying third in Group H behind Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mircea Lucescu’s squad went winless in away matches throughout 2025, and veteran midfielder Nicolae Stanciu will need a top performance if Romania is to pull off an upset on the road in Istanbul.
The winner of this game will face the winner of Kosovo’s semifinal against Slovakia in the final on Tuesday, March 31 for a berth at the World Cup.
Turkey vs. Romania channel, start time, streaming
Turkey vs. Romania game odds
Turkey vs. Romania prediction, pick
Turkey’s home-field advantage combined with a 21-place gap in FIFA rankings makes this a steep climb for Romania. The hosts have the attacking quality to break down a Romanian defense that struggled on the road in 2025.
Prediction: Turkey 2, Romania 0
- Ugurcan Çakir
- Abdülkerim Bardakci
- Samet Akaydin
- Ferdi Kadioglu
- Mert Müldür
- Arda Güler
- Hakan Çalhanoglu
- Ismail Yüksek
- Kerem Aktürkoglu
- Kenan Yildiz
- Baris Alper Yilmaz
- Andrei Radu
- Andrei Burca
- Radu Dragusin
- Nicusor Bancu
- Andrei Ratiu
- Ianis Hagi
- Vlad Dragomir
- Razvan Marin
- Daniel Birligea
- Valentin Mihaila
- Dennis Man
